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)

在该项目中，NSF公司将在Gulfstream V飞机上安装一台双成像光谱仪，用于测量油气生产区的甲烷排放。选定的研究区域占美国大陆陆上甲烷产量的50%以上。最近由美国国家科学基金会支持的一个名为MethaneAIR的奖项制作了大气甲烷地图，其粒度前所未有，显示了地面排放源向大气中添加的甲烷量。该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，并提供一个基线，以便将来对排放量进行比较。准确量化这些来源对于各国和行业履行COP26应对气候变化的甲烷承诺至关重要。该项目将使用EDF开发的机载成像光谱仪来解决以下科学问题：(1)美国主要石油和天然气（O&amp；G）省份的盆地尺度排放率是多少？(2)流域尺度的排放是如何在非常大的点源（“分布的肥尾”）和非常多的小源之间分配的？(3)是什么因素导致了各地区的排放速率差异？(4)美国各地垃圾填埋场的排放率是多少？(5)控制技术在减少堆填区甲烷排放方面的效果如何？哈佛大学的研究生和犹他大学的博士后学者将接受培训，学习新的先进方法，对MethaneAIR图像进行科学评估，并帮助解决这种新型定性图像所带来的新型逆建模问题。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。

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.