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)

在这一实地活动项目中，NSF湾流V飞机将部署一台双成像光谱仪，以测量石油和天然气生产区的甲烷排放量。选定的研究区域占美国大陆陆上甲烷产量的50%以上。最近NSF支持的一个名为“甲烷空气”的奖项以前所未有的粒度绘制了大气甲烷地图，显示了地面排放源向大气中添加的甲烷量。这一项目将提供所研究区域的甲烷排放量估计数，为观测到的排放量提供归因，并为今后的排放量比较提供基线。这些来源的准确量化对于让国家和工业对COP26甲烷承诺负责以应对气候变化是极其重要的。EDF开发的机载成像光谱仪将用于该项目以解决以下科学问题：（1）美国主要石油和天然气（O G）省份的流域尺度排放率是多少？(2)流域规模的排放如何在非常大的点源（“分布的厚尾”）和非常大量的较小源之间划分？(3)哪些因素导致O G区域之间的排放率不同？(4)美国垃圾填埋场的排放率是多少？ (5)控制技术在减少垃圾填埋场甲烷排放方面的有效性如何？哈佛大学的研究生和犹他州大学的博士后学者将接受培训，学习新的先进方法，对甲烷空气图像进行科学评估，并帮助解决这种新型图像所带来的新的逆向建模问题。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

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.