Inter-comparison of Direct Quantification and Areal Micrometeorological Methods to Investigate the Transport and Fate of Methane from Heterogeneous Sources in Natural Gas Fields

天然气的使用在世界范围内不断增加。甲烷是天然气的主要成分，是一种导致气候变化的强效温室气体（GHG）。最近的研究表明，甲烷可以从天然气田释放出来，但这些数据存在很大的不确定性，无法对其数量进行准确的量化。拟议的研究将减少这种不确定性，并推进测量方法和建模工具的知识，以量化天然气田的甲烷排放。该项目将支持来自阿巴拉契亚农村地区未被充分代表的工程专业学生的研究生和本科生研究人员，解决扩大科学和工程参与的社会需求。如果成功，这项研究的结果将通过潜在地影响监管活动和提高天然气生产效率来帮助保护国家的能源安全。由于定向钻井等技术的成熟和采收率的提高，美国的天然气产量持续增长。然而，天然气田甲烷泄漏的规模和命运仍然高度不确定和未解决。最近的研究表明，甲烷损失率在天然气总产量中所占比例从不到1%到17%之间存在显著差异。这些巨大的变化通常归因于自上而下（间接空中通量或顺风测量）和自下而上（直接成分水平测量和排放因子）估算的不确定性，其中包括测量的不确定性和普遍缺乏高保真度数据集。本研究的目标是通过收集和分析基于涡流协方差通量技术和高斯羽流测量以及直接自下而上测量的甲烷通量和环境变量的时间自上而下测量来减少这些不确定性。这项研究将采用先进的数据分析方法，利用经验模型和人工智能来提高对西弗吉尼亚州和大阿巴拉契亚地区天然气田甲烷排放的机理理解。使用间接测量技术进行精确的定量将减少对目前采用的劳动密集型泄漏检测方案的需求。研究结果将通过同行评议的出版物和会议报告广泛传播。研究人员将利用位于西弗吉尼亚州摩根敦的马塞勒斯页岩能源与环境实验室（MSEEL）的工业合作来交流研究成果。该研究小组还将与西弗吉尼亚大学能源研究所合作，编写外联材料，并在马塞勒斯地区举办研讨会。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The use of natural gas is increasing worldwide. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is a highly potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that contributes to climatic changes. Recent research suggests that methane can be released from natural gas fields, but large uncertainties in these data do not allow accurate quantification of the amount. The proposed research will reduce this uncertainty and advance knowledge in measurement methods and modeling tools for the quantification of methane emissions in natural gas fields. The project will support graduate and undergraduate researcher from underrepresented engineering students in rural Appalachia, addressing societal needs for broadening participation in science and engineering. If successful, the results of this research will help protect the Nation's energy security by potentially influencing regulatory activities and improving the efficiency of natural gas production.Due to maturation of technologies such as directional drilling and enhanced recovery, natural gas production continues to grow in the U.S. However, the magnitude and fate of leaking methane emissions from natural gas fields remain highly uncertain and unresolved. Recent studies show significant variations in methane losses, from less than 1% to 17% of the total natural gas produced. These large variations are generally attributed to uncertainty in top-down (indirect aerial fluxes or downwind measurements) and bottom-up (direct component level measurements and emissions factors) estimates, which include measurement uncertainty and a general lack of high fidelity data sets. The goal of this research is to reduce these uncertainties by collecting and analyzing temporal top-down measurements of methane fluxes and environmental variables based on eddy-covariance flux techniques and Gaussian plume measurements in concert with direct bottom-up measurements. This research will employ advanced data analytics using empirical models and artificial intelligence to improve the mechanistic understanding of methane emissions in natural gas fields across West Virginia and the greater Appalachian region. Accurate quantification with indirect measurement techniques would decrease the need for the labor-intensive leak detection schemes currently employed. The research findings will be broadly disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. The researchers will leverage industrial collaborations at the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environmental Laboratory (MSEEL) in Morgantown, WV, to communicate the research outcomes. The research group will also work with the West Virginia University Energy Institute to develop outreach materials and conduct seminars in the Marcellus region.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.