Measurements of Atmospheric Methane Emissions from Stray Gas Migration: A Case Study from the Marcellus Shale.

ABSTRACT: Understanding emissions of methane from legacy and ongoing shale gas development requires both regional studies that assess the frequency of emissions and case studies that assess causation. We present the first direct measurements of emissions in a case study of a putatively leaking gas well in the largest shale gas play in the United States. We quantify atmospheric methane emissions in farmland >2 km from the nearest shale gas well cited for casing and cementing issues. We find that emissions are highly heterogeneous as they travel long distances in the subsurface. Emissions were measured near observed patches of dead vegetation and methane bubbling from a stream. An eddy covariance flux tower, chamber flux measurements, and a survey of enhancements of the near-surface methane mole fract

SUBMITTER: Dennis LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9037607 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature