Airborne remote sensing and in situ measurements of atmospheric CO 2 to quantify point source emissions

Abstract. Reliable techniques to infer greenhouse gas emission rates from localised sources require accurate measurement and inversion approaches. In this study airborne remote sensing observations of CO2 by the MAMAP instrument and airborne in situ measurements are used to infer emission estimates of carbon dioxide released from a cluster of coal-fired power plants. The study area is complex due to sources being located in close proximity and overlapping associated carbon dioxide plumes. For the analysis of in situ data, a mass balance approach is described and applied, whereas for the remote sensing observations an inverse Gaussian plume model is used in addition to a mass balance technique. A comparison between methods shows that results for all methods agree within 10 % or better with uncertainties of 10 to 30 % for cases in which in situ measurements were made for the complete vertical plume extent. The computed emissions for individual power plants are in agreement with results derived from emission factors and energy production data for the time of the overflight.

[1]  Ira Leifer,et al.  Methane emissions from a Californian landfill, determined from airborne remote sensing and in situ measurements , 2016 .

[2]  D. Thompson,et al.  Airborne methane remote measurements reveal heavy-tail flux distribution in Four Corners region , 2016, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[3]  H. Bovensmann,et al.  Real-time remote detection and measurement for airborne imaging spectroscopy: a case study with methane , 2015 .

[4]  Shao-Meng Li,et al.  Determining air pollutant emission rates based on mass balance using airborne measurement data over the Alberta oil sands operations , 2015 .

[5]  Colm Sweeney,et al.  Aircraft-Based Measurements of Point Source Methane Emissions in the Barnett Shale Basin. , 2015, Environmental science & technology.

[6]  Ira Leifer,et al.  Airborne visualization and quantification of discrete methane sources in the environment , 2014 .

[7]  O. Schneising,et al.  Remote sensing of fugitive methane emissions from oil and gas production in North American tight geologic formations , 2014 .

[8]  N. Buchmann,et al.  Aircraft‐based CH4 flux estimates for validation of emissions from an agriculturally dominated area in Switzerland , 2014 .

[9]  Robert W Howarth,et al.  Toward a better understanding and quantification of methane emissions from shale gas development , 2014, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[10]  E. Kort,et al.  Methane Leaks from North American Natural Gas Systems , 2014, Science.

[11]  C. Frankenberg,et al.  Retrieval techniques for airborne imaging of methane concentrations using high spatial and moderate spectral resolution: application to AVIRIS , 2014 .

[12]  Hartmut Boesch,et al.  Carbon Monitoring Satellite (CarbonSat): assessment of atmospheric CO 2 and CH 4 retrieval errors by error parameterization , 2013 .

[13]  Daniel V. Samarov,et al.  Assessment of uncertainties of an aircraft-based mass balance approach for quantifying urban greenhouse gas emissions , 2013 .

[14]  Peter Bergamaschi,et al.  Three decades of global methane sources and sinks , 2013 .

[15]  James Thomas,et al.  Measurements of methane emissions at natural gas production sites in the United States , 2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[16]  Gabrielle Pétron,et al.  Methane emissions estimate from airborne measurements over a western United States natural gas field , 2013 .

[17]  Michael Buchwitz,et al.  Quantification of methane emission rates from coal mine ventilation shafts using airborne remote sensing data , 2012 .

[18]  Michael Buchwitz,et al.  A simple empirical model estimating atmospheric CO 2 background concentrations , 2012 .

[19]  Ilse Aben,et al.  Methane retrievals from Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) shortwave infrared measurements: Performance comparison of proxy and physics retrieval algorithms , 2012 .

[20]  James J Winebrake,et al.  Greater focus needed on methane leakage from natural gas infrastructure , 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[21]  Anthony R. Ingraffea,et al.  Venting and leaking of methane from shale gas development: response to Cathles et al. , 2012, Climatic Change.

[22]  L. Cathles,et al.  A commentary on “The greenhouse-gas footprint of natural gas in shale formations” by R.W. Howarth, R. Santoro, and Anthony Ingraffea , 2012, Climatic Change.

[23]  M. Buchwitz,et al.  MAMAP – a new spectrometer system for column-averaged methane and carbon dioxide observations from aircraft: retrieval algorithm and first inversions for point source emission rates , 2011 .

[24]  Michael Buchwitz,et al.  MAMAP – a new spectrometer system for column-averaged methane and carbon dioxide observations from aircraft: instrument description and performance analysis , 2010 .

[25]  Michael Buchwitz,et al.  A remote sensing technique for global monitoring of power plant CO 2 emissions from space and related applications , 2010 .

[26]  Colm Sweeney,et al.  Aircraft-based measurements of the carbon footprint of Indianapolis. , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[27]  Katherine V Ackerman,et al.  Comparison of two U.S. power-plant carbon dioxide emissions data sets. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[28]  Gang Li,et al.  The HITRAN 2008 molecular spectroscopic database , 2005 .

[29]  J. F. Meirink,et al.  Assessing Methane Emissions from Global Space-Borne Observations , 2005, Science.

[30]  Michael Buchwitz,et al.  A near-infrared optimized DOAS method for the fast global retrieval of atmospheric CH4 , 2000 .

[31]  David A. Cornwell,et al.  Introduction to Environmental Engineering , 1991 .

[32]  D. Martin.  The Change of Concentration Standard Deviations with Distance , 1976 .

[33]  Robert W. McMullen,et al.  The Change of Concentration Standard Deviations with Distance , 1975 .

[34]  Cincinnati.  WORKBOOK OF ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION ESTIMATES , 1970 .

[35]  N. Sissenwine.  U.S. Committee on Extension to the Standard Atmosphere , 1962, Nature.

[36]  D. Eichelberger.  Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions Methods To Support International Climate Agreements , 2016 .

[37]  E. R. Polovtseva,et al.  The HITRAN2012 molecular spectroscopic database , 2013 .

[38]  Ram S. Gupta.  Introduction to environmental engineering and science , 2004 .

[39]  C. Kroeze.  N2O from animal waste. Methodology according to IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. , 1997 .

[40]  Gilbert M. Masters,et al.  Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Science , 1991 .