A New Technique for Airborne Measurements to Quantify Methane Emissions Over a Wide Range: Implementation and Validation
Methane ( CH 4 ) is a powerful greenhouse gas that is produced by a diverse set of natural and anthropogenic emission sources. Biogenic methane sources generally involve anaerobic decay processes such as those occurring in wetlands, melting permafrost, or the digestion of organic matter in the guts...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:egusphere118798 2024-10-06T13:52:10+00:00 A New Technique for Airborne Measurements to Quantify Methane Emissions Over a Wide Range: Implementation and Validation Dooley, Jonathan F. Minschwaner, Kenneth Dubey, Manvendra K. Abbadi, Sahar H. Sherwin, Evan D. Meyer, Aaron G. Follansbee, Emily Lee, James E. 2024-09-04 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-760 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-760/ eng eng doi:10.5194/egusphere-2024-760 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-760/ eISSN: Text 2024 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-760 2024-09-10T23:57:28Z Methane ( CH 4 ) is a powerful greenhouse gas that is produced by a diverse set of natural and anthropogenic emission sources. Biogenic methane sources generally involve anaerobic decay processes such as those occurring in wetlands, melting permafrost, or the digestion of organic matter in the guts of ruminant animals. Thermogenic CH 4 sources originate from the breakdown of organic material at high temperatures and pressure within the Earth's crust, a process which also produces more complex trace hydrocarbons such as ethane ( C 2 H 6 ). Here, we present the development and deployment of an uncrewed aerial system (UAS) that employs a fast (1 Hz ) and sensitive (1–0.5 ppb s −1 ) CH 4 and C 2 H 6 sensor and ultrasonic anemometer. The UAS platform is a vertical-takeoff, hexarotor drone (DJI Matrice 600 Pro, M600P) capable of vertical profiling to 120 m altitude and plume sampling across scales up to 1 km . Simultaneous measurements of CH 4 and C 2 H 6 concentrations, vector winds, and positional data allow for source classification (biogenic versus thermogenic), differentiation, and emission rates without the need for modeling or a priori assumptions about winds, vertical mixing, or other environmental conditions. The system has been used for direct quantification of methane point sources, such as orphan wells, and distributed emitters, such as landfills and wastewater treatment facilities. With detectable source rates as low as 0.04 and up to ∼ 1500 kg h −1 , this UAS offers a direct and repeatable method of horizontal and vertical profiling of emission plumes at scales that are complementary to regional aerial surveys and localized ground-based monitoring. Text permafrost Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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English |
description |
Methane ( CH 4 ) is a powerful greenhouse gas that is produced by a diverse set of natural and anthropogenic emission sources. Biogenic methane sources generally involve anaerobic decay processes such as those occurring in wetlands, melting permafrost, or the digestion of organic matter in the guts of ruminant animals. Thermogenic CH 4 sources originate from the breakdown of organic material at high temperatures and pressure within the Earth's crust, a process which also produces more complex trace hydrocarbons such as ethane ( C 2 H 6 ). Here, we present the development and deployment of an uncrewed aerial system (UAS) that employs a fast (1 Hz ) and sensitive (1–0.5 ppb s −1 ) CH 4 and C 2 H 6 sensor and ultrasonic anemometer. The UAS platform is a vertical-takeoff, hexarotor drone (DJI Matrice 600 Pro, M600P) capable of vertical profiling to 120 m altitude and plume sampling across scales up to 1 km . Simultaneous measurements of CH 4 and C 2 H 6 concentrations, vector winds, and positional data allow for source classification (biogenic versus thermogenic), differentiation, and emission rates without the need for modeling or a priori assumptions about winds, vertical mixing, or other environmental conditions. The system has been used for direct quantification of methane point sources, such as orphan wells, and distributed emitters, such as landfills and wastewater treatment facilities. With detectable source rates as low as 0.04 and up to ∼ 1500 kg h −1 , this UAS offers a direct and repeatable method of horizontal and vertical profiling of emission plumes at scales that are complementary to regional aerial surveys and localized ground-based monitoring. |
format |
Text |
author |
Dooley, Jonathan F. Minschwaner, Kenneth Dubey, Manvendra K. Abbadi, Sahar H. Sherwin, Evan D. Meyer, Aaron G. Follansbee, Emily Lee, James E. |
spellingShingle |
Dooley, Jonathan F. Minschwaner, Kenneth Dubey, Manvendra K. Abbadi, Sahar H. Sherwin, Evan D. Meyer, Aaron G. Follansbee, Emily Lee, James E. A New Technique for Airborne Measurements to Quantify Methane Emissions Over a Wide Range: Implementation and Validation |
author_facet |
Dooley, Jonathan F. Minschwaner, Kenneth Dubey, Manvendra K. Abbadi, Sahar H. Sherwin, Evan D. Meyer, Aaron G. Follansbee, Emily Lee, James E. |
author_sort |
Dooley, Jonathan F. |
title |
A New Technique for Airborne Measurements to Quantify Methane Emissions Over a Wide Range: Implementation and Validation |
title_short |
A New Technique for Airborne Measurements to Quantify Methane Emissions Over a Wide Range: Implementation and Validation |
title_full |
A New Technique for Airborne Measurements to Quantify Methane Emissions Over a Wide Range: Implementation and Validation |
title_fullStr |
A New Technique for Airborne Measurements to Quantify Methane Emissions Over a Wide Range: Implementation and Validation |
title_full_unstemmed |
A New Technique for Airborne Measurements to Quantify Methane Emissions Over a Wide Range: Implementation and Validation |
title_sort |
new technique for airborne measurements to quantify methane emissions over a wide range: implementation and validation |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-760 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-760/ |
genre |
permafrost |
genre_facet |
permafrost |
op_source |
eISSN: |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/egusphere-2024-760 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-760/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-760 |
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1812180499252117504 |