Strong methane point sources contribute a disproportionate fraction of total emissions across multiple basins in the United States.

ABSTRACT: Understanding, prioritizing, and mitigating methane (CH₄) emissions requires quantifying CH₄ budgets from facility scales to regional scales with the ability to differentiate between source sectors. We deployed a tiered observing system for multiple basins in the United States (San Joaquin Valley, Uinta, Denver-Julesburg, Permian, Marcellus). We quantify strong point source emissions (>10 kg CH₄ h^-1) using airborne imaging spectrometers, attribute them to sectors, and assess their intermittency with multiple revisits. We compare these point source emissions to total basin CH₄ fluxes derived from inversion of Sentinel-5p satellite CH₄ observations. Across basins, point sources make up on average 40% of the regional flux. We s

SUBMITTER: Cusworth DH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9499563 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature