AGS-FIRP Track 3: Methane Emissions Quantification at Scales from 20m to 200km Using the MethaneAIR Imaging Spectrometer on the NSF Gulfstream-V (MAIR-E)

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

In this field campaign project, a dual imaging spectrometer will be deployed on the NSF Gulfstream V aircraft to measure methane emissions from oil and gas production areas. The selected regions for study account for more than 50% of the onshore methane production in the continental United States. A recent NSF-supported award, titled MethaneAIR, produced maps of atmospheric methane with unprecedented granularity showing the amount of methane added to the atmosphere by emission sources at the ground. This project will provide estimates of methane emissions from the regions studied providing attribution for the observed emissions and a baseline to which emissions can be compared in the future. The accurate quantification of these sources is extremely important for holding nations and industry accountable to the COP26 Methane Pledge for addressing climate change. The airborne imaging spectrometer that was developed by EDF will be used in this project to address the following science questions: (1) What are the basin-scale emission rates from major oil and gas (O&G) provinces in the US? (2) How are basin-scale emissions partitioned between very large point sources (“the fat tail of the distribution”) and very large numbers of smaller sources? (3) What factors cause emission rates to vary among O&G regions? (4) What are the emission rates from landfills across the US? (5) How effective is control technology in reducing methane emissions from landfills? Graduate students at Harvard and a postdoctoral scholar at the University Utah will be trained in new advanced methods for scientific assessment of MethaneAIR imagery and help to solve novel inverse modeling problems presented by this qualitatively new type of imagery. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.