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Methane emissions estimate from airborne measurements over a western United States natural gas field
Author(s) -
Karion Anna,
Sweeney Colm,
Pétron Gabrielle,
Frost Gregory,
Michael Hardesty R.,
Kofler Jonathan,
Miller Ben R.,
Newberger Tim,
Wolter Sonja,
Banta Robert,
Brewer Alan,
Dlugokencky Ed,
Lang Patricia,
Montzka Stephen A.,
Schnell Russell,
Tans Pieter,
Trainer Michael,
Zamora Robert,
Conley Stephen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/grl.50811
Subject(s) - natural gas , environmental science , methane , methane emissions , fossil fuel , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , waste management , geology , chemistry , geography , engineering , organic chemistry
Methane (CH 4 ) emissions from natural gas production are not well quantified and have the potential to offset the climate benefits of natural gas over other fossil fuels. We use atmospheric measurements in a mass balance approach to estimate CH 4 emissions of 55 ± 15 × 10 3 kg h −1 from a natural gas and oil production field in Uintah County, Utah, on 1 day: 3 February 2012. This emission rate corresponds to 6.2%–11.7% (1σ) of average hourly natural gas production in Uintah County in the month of February. This study demonstrates the mass balance technique as a valuable tool for estimating emissions from oil and gas production regions and illustrates the need for further atmospheric measurements to determine the representativeness of our single‐day estimate and to better assess inventories of CH 4 emissions.