Finding and fixing gas leaks: Using urban waterways to halt the global rise in methane emissions

甲烷是一种温室气体，在20年的时间里，其全球变暖潜力是二氧化碳的86倍--这是全球需要采取行动减少碳排放和限制灾难性气候变化的时间表。自2010年以来，大气甲烷浓度每年增加0.5%，但要实现将全球变暖控制在1.5摄氏度以内的巴黎气候目标，需要在2010年至2050年期间每年减少0.9%。目前大气中大约一半的甲烷来自人类活动，因此解决人类驱动的甲烷排放对于实现气候目标至关重要。这一奖学金将使我能够建立一个团队，帮助解决全球甲烷排放的上升问题。这将通过三个工作包(WPS)实现，这三个工作包为阻碍减少人类驱动的甲烷排放的关键挑战提供技术解决方案。这些技术解决方案将被开发并应用于城市水道(城市河流和运河)，因为这些系统可以作为人类驱动的甲烷排放到大气中的管道。城市水道可以接受广泛的甲烷输入，如泄漏的天然气和废水管道，并将面临越来越大的人类压力，预计到2030年将有超过50亿人居住在城市。我们如何准确地测量甲烷排放？甲烷排放在短的空间(米)和时间(小时)尺度上可能有很大的差异。该研究金将提供能够以远远超过当前能力的空间和时间分辨率测量甲烷排放的仪器，并利用它来量化城市水道对全球代表性地点(英国、欧洲、美国、中国、孟加拉国)的城市规模甲烷库存的贡献。甲烷排放来自哪里？甲烷排放可直接由人类活动驱动，如管道泄漏，或间接通过增加水道中的甲烷产量来驱动。该研究金中使用的技术将通过测量甲烷/乙烷比率和甲烷稳定(C-13)同位素来区分天然甲烷和人类驱动的甲烷，其分辨率与WP1相同。这将与有针对性的甲烷放射性(C-14)和稳定(H-2)同位素以及城市水道的地球化学和微生物特征相结合。将绘制整个城市水道网络的甲烷排放和来源图，以确定向大气排放甲烷的关键控制措施。WP3。我们如何减少甲烷排放？甲烷释放控制地图，再加上通过现场和实验室培养的详细微生物特征，将用于提供a)检测甲烷泄漏，即使是隐藏在地下的甲烷泄漏，以及b)通过制定生物修复策略防止人类驱动的甲烷排放到大气中的技术。例如，城市水道微生物如何应对甲烷泄漏，以及我们能否利用这些微生物在甲烷进入大气之前快速氧化泄漏的甲烷？由于有广泛的潜在人类驱动的甲烷来源，城市水道为拟议的技术提供了强大的试验台。这些技术将作为研究、工业和政策最终用户的工具箱提供。该工具箱将通过一个研究和行业主导的指导委员会与壳牌和英国环境署等项目合作伙伴合作开发(见支持函)。该研究金提供灵活性、培训和时间，以交付一个以用户为重点的工具箱，其中包括：1)用于捕捉甲烷排放量的时空变异性的仪器；2)免费提供的甲烷同位素及相关的地球化学和微生物特征参考数据库，以查明甲烷的来源；3)与业界和侧重政策的合作伙伴合作开发的探测和减少人类驱动的甲烷向大气排放的切实解决方案。

Methane is a greenhouse gas with 86 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period - the timescale in which global action to reduce carbon emissions and limit catastrophic climate change is needed. Atmospheric methane concentrations have increased by 0.5% per year since 2010, yet to achieve the Paris Climate target limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius it needs to decrease by 0.9% per year between 2010 and 2050. Roughly half the methane currently in the atmosphere comes from human activity, so addressing human-driven methane emissions is crucial to achieving climate targets.This fellowship will allow me to build a team to help address the global rise in methane emissions. This will be achieved via three work packages (WPs) that deliver technical solutions to key challenges standing in the way of a reduction in human-driven methane emissions. These technical solutions will be developed and applied in urban waterways (city rivers and canals) because these systems can act as conduits for human-driven methane emissions to the atmosphere. Urban waterways can receive a wide range of methane inputs, such as leaky gas and wastewater pipes, and will come under increasing human pressure with more than 5 billion people predicted to live in cities by 2030.WP1. How do we accurately measure methane emissions? Methane emissions can vary substantially over short spatial (meters) and temporal (hours) scales. The fellowship will deliver instrumentation that can measure methane emissions at spatial and temporal resolutions far surpassing current capabilities, and use it to quantify the contribution of urban waterways to city-scale methane inventories across globally representative locations (UK, Europe, USA, China, Bangladesh).WP2. Where do methane emissions originate? Methane emissions can be driven directly by human activity, such as leaky pipes, or indirectly by increasing the production of methane in waterways. The techniques used in this fellowship will distinguish natural from human-driven methane by measuring methane/ethane ratios and methane stable (C-13) isotopes at the same high resolutions as in WP1. This will be coupled with targeted methane radio- (C-14) and stable (H-2) isotopes, and geochemical and microbial characterisation of urban waterways. Methane emissions and origin will be mapped out for entire urban waterway networks to determine the key controls of methane release to the atmosphere. WP3. How do we reduce methane emissions? The mapping of controls on methane release, coupled to detailed microbial characterisation through in-situ and lab incubations, will be used to deliver techniques to a) detect methane leaks, even ones hidden underground, and b) prevent the emission of human-driven methane to the atmosphere by developing bioremediation strategies. For example, how do urban waterway microbes respond to methane leaks, and can we utilise these microbes to rapidly oxidise leaking methane before it reaches the atmosphere?With a wide range of potential human-driven methane sources, urban waterways provide a strong testbed for the proposed techniques. These techniques will be delivered as a toolbox for research, industry and policy end-users. The toolbox will be developed in collaboration with project partners such as Shell and the UK Environment Agency via a research and industry-led steering committee (see letters of support). This fellowship provides the flexibility, training and time required to deliver a user-focused toolbox containing:1) instrumentation to capture the spatial and temporal variability of methane emissions2) a freely available reference database of methane isotopes and associated geochemical and microbial signatures to identify methane origins3) tangible solutions to detect and reduce human-driven methane emissions to the atmosphere, developed in collaboration with industry and policy focused partners.