Project Funding: 2017 - 2020

NRA: 2016 NASA: Carbon Monitoring System   

Funded by NASA

Abstract:
We propose to continue our work on the NASA CMS Science Team to improve knowledge of methane emissions in North America and globally through the exploitation of satellite data and in service to stakeholders. There is considerable need to assess gaps in national methane emission inventories, including contributions from different sectors. The resumed growth in global atmospheric methane over the past decade has attracted much attention but its cause is still being debated. Our work will advance understanding by bridging the gap between top-down information from atmospheric methane observations (satellite and suborbital) and bottom-up information from process-based inventories. We will use state-of-science, policy-relevant national emission inventories, including error estimates, to serve as prior information in inversions of satellite data from GOSAT (2009-present) and TROPOMI (2017 launch). From there we will be able to evaluate these inventories and provide guidance for improvements. The long, high- quality record from GOSAT will provide strong constraints on regional sources and unique insight into the factors driving the methane trend. TROPOMI with its global daily coverage is expected to considerably increase our ability to quantify methane emissions from space including seasonal variations. Our work will build on a strong collaboration with EPA already developed through CMS. This collaboration has produced a spatially resolved version of the national Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI) including scale-dependent error estimates. We will apply this inventory as prior estimate for inversions of satellite data, and work with EPA in the interpretation of results to evaluate and improve the GHGI. We have also developed an ensemble-based global wetland emission inventory (WetCHARTs) that we will use in our inversions to narrow uncertainty in biogeochemical process controls. We will develop new collaborations with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the Mexican Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC) to produce spatially resolved versions of their national inventories, enabling evaluation of these inventories with satellite data through our inversion framework. We will apply innovative inverse methods to achieve high-resolution constraints on methane emissions and trends, for North America and globally, with full error characterization. Suborbital data (NOAA, TCCON sites; ATom, SONGNEX, CARVE, SEAC4RS, ACT-America aircraft campaigns) will be used at all stages of the analysis. Specific tasks for the project will involve: (1) Interpret the GOSAT satellite record (2009-present) using advanced inverse methods, and together with suborbital data, to constrain methane emissions and their trends with full error characterization, globally and for North America at high resolution; (2) Apply inversion results to evaluate national methane inventories for the US, Canada, and Mexico, working in collaboration with EPA, ECCC, and INECC; (3) Narrow uncertainties in wetland emissions and the underlying process controls by applying inversion error reductions to a large ensemble of bottom-up inventories; (4) Start interpreting TROPOMI observations as soon as they become available (expected mid-2018) to improve top-down constraints on methane emissions including seasonal information.

Publications:

Alvarez, R. A., Zavala-Araiza, D., Lyon, D. R., Allen, D. T., Barkley, Z. R., Brandt, A. R., Davis, K. J., Herndon, S. C., Jacob, D. J., Karion, A., Kort, E. A., Lamb, B. K., Lauvaux, T., Maasakkers, J. D., Marchese, A. J., Omara, M., Pacala, S. W., Peischl, J., Robinson, A. L., Shepson, P. B., Sweeney, C., Townsend-Small, A., Wofsy, S. C., Hamburg, S. P. 2018. Assessment of methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas supply chain. Science. eaar7204. DOI: 10.1126/science.aar7204

Cusworth, D. H., Jacob, D. J., Sheng, J., Benmergui, J., Turner, A. J., Brandman, J., White, L., Randles, C. A. 2018. Detecting high-emitting methane sources in oil/gas fields using satellite observations. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 18(23), 16885-16896. DOI: 10.5194/acp-18-16885-2018

Cusworth, D. H., Jacob, D. J., Varon, D. J., Chan Miller, C., Liu, X., Chance, K., Thorpe, A. K., Duren, R. M., Miller, C. E., Thompson, D. R., Frankenberg, C., Guanter, L., Randles, C. A. 2019. Potential of next-generation imaging spectrometers to detect and quantify methane point sources from space. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 12(10), 5655-5668. DOI: 10.5194/amt-12-5655-2019

Lu, X., Jacob, D. J., Zhang, Y., Maasakkers, J. D., Sulprizio, M. P., Shen, L., Qu, Z., Scarpelli, T. R., Nesser, H., Yantosca, R. M., Sheng, J., Andrews, A., Parker, R. J., Boesch, H., Bloom, A. A., Ma, S. 2021. Global methane budget and trend, 2010-2017: complementarity of inverse analyses using in situ (GLOBALVIEWplus CH<sub>4</sub> ObsPack) and satellite (GOSAT) observations. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 21(6), 4637-4657. DOI: 10.5194/acp-21-4637-2021

Maasakkers, J. D., Jacob, D. J., Sulprizio, M. P., Scarpelli, T. R., Nesser, H., Sheng, J., Zhang, Y., Hersher, M., Bloom, A. A., Bowman, K. W., Worden, J. R., Janssens-Maenhout, G., Parker, R. J. 2019. Global distribution of methane emissions, emission trends, and OH concentrations and trends inferred from an inversion of GOSAT satellite data for 2010-2015. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 19(11), 7859-7881. DOI: 10.5194/acp-19-7859-2019

Maasakkers, J. D., Jacob, D. J., Sulprizio, M. P., Scarpelli, T. R., Nesser, H., Sheng, J., Zhang, Y., Lu, X., Bloom, A. A., Bowman, K. W., Worden, J. R., Parker, R. J. 2021. 2010-2015 North American methane emissions, sectoral contributions, and trends: a high-resolution inversion of GOSAT observations of atmospheric methane. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 21(6), 4339-4356. DOI: 10.5194/acp-21-4339-2021

Parker, R. J., Boesch, H., McNorton, J., Comyn-Platt, E., Gloor, M., Wilson, C., Chipperfield, M. P., Hayman, G. D., Bloom, A. A. 2018. Evaluating year-to-year anomalies in tropical wetland methane emissions using satellite CH4 observations. Remote Sensing of Environment. 211, 261-275. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2018.02.011

Parker, R. J., Wilson, C., Bloom, A. A., Comyn-Platt, E., Hayman, G., McNorton, J., Boesch, H., Chipperfield, M. P. 2020. Exploring constraints on a wetland methane emission ensemble (WetCHARTs) using GOSAT observations. Biogeosciences. 17(22), 5669-5691. DOI: 10.5194/bg-17-5669-2020

Scarpelli, T. R., Jacob, D. J., Maasakkers, J. D., Sulprizio, M. P., Sheng, J., Rose, K., Romeo, L., Worden, J. R., Janssens-Maenhout, G. 2020. A global gridded (0.1deg x 0.1deg) inventory of methane emissions from oil, gas, and coal exploitation based on national reports to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Earth System Science Data. 12(1), 563-575. DOI: 10.5194/essd-12-563-2020

Scarpelli, T. R., Jacob, D. J., Octaviano Villasana, C. A., Ramirez Hernandez, I. F., Cardenas Moreno, P. R., Cortes Alfaro, E. A., Garcia Garcia, M. A., Zavala-Araiza, D. 2020. A gridded inventory of anthropogenic methane emissions from Mexico based on Mexico's national inventory of greenhouse gases and compounds. Environmental Research Letters. 15(10), 105015. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/abb42b

Shen, L., Zavala-Araiza, D., Gautam, R., Omara, M., Scarpelli, T., Sheng, J., Sulprizio, M. P., Zhuang, J., Zhang, Y., Qu, Z., Lu, X., Hamburg, S. P., Jacob, D. J. 2021. Unravelling a large methane emission discrepancy in Mexico using satellite observations. Remote Sensing of Environment. 260, 112461. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2021.112461

Sheng, J., Jacob, D. J., Maasakkers, J. D., Zhang, Y., Sulprizio, M. P. 2018. Comparative analysis of low-Earth orbit (TROPOMI) and geostationary (GeoCARB, GEO-CAPE) satellite instruments for constraining methane emissions on fine regional scales: application to the Southeast US. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 11(12), 6379-6388. DOI: 10.5194/amt-11-6379-2018

Sheng, J., Jacob, D. J., Turner, A. J., Maasakkers, J. D., Benmergui, J., Bloom, A. A., Arndt, C., Gautam, R., Zavala-Araiza, D., Boesch, H., Parker, R. J. 2018. 2010-2016 methane trends over Canada, the United States, and Mexico observed by the GOSAT satellite: contributions from different source sectors. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 18(16), 12257-12267. DOI: 10.5194/acp-18-12257-2018

Sheng, J., Jacob, D. J., Turner, A. J., Maasakkers, J. D., Sulprizio, M. P., Bloom, A. A., Andrews, A. E., Wunch, D. 2018. High-resolution inversion of methane emissions in the Southeast US using SEAC<sup>4</sup>RS aircraft observations of atmospheric methane: anthropogenic and wetland sources. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 18(9), 6483-6491. DOI: 10.5194/acp-18-6483-2018

Treat, C. C., Bloom, A. A., Marushchak, M. E. 2018. Nongrowing season methane emissions-a significant component of annual emissions across northern ecosystems. Global Change Biology. 24(8), 3331-3343. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14137

Turner, A. J., Jacob, D. J., Benmergui, J., Brandman, J., White, L., Randles, C. A. 2018. Assessing the capability of different satellite observing configurations to resolve the distribution of methane emissions at kilometer scales. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 18(11), 8265-8278. DOI: 10.5194/acp-18-8265-2018

Varon, D. J., Jacob, D. J., Jervis, D., McKeever, J. 2020. Quantifying Time-Averaged Methane Emissions from Individual Coal Mine Vents with GHGSat-D Satellite Observations. Environmental Science & Technology. 54(16), 10246-10253. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c01213

Varon, D. J., Jacob, D. J., McKeever, J., Jervis, D., Durak, B. O. A., Xia, Y., Huang, Y. 2018. Quantifying methane point sources from fine-scale satellite observations of atmospheric methane plumes. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 11(10), 5673-5686. DOI: 10.5194/amt-11-5673-2018

Varon, D. J., Jervis, D., McKeever, J., Spence, I., Gains, D., Jacob, D. J. 2021. High-frequency monitoring of anomalous methane point sources with multispectral Sentinel-2 satellite observations. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 14(4), 2771-2785. DOI: 10.5194/amt-14-2771-2021

Varon, D. J., McKeever, J., Jervis, D., Maasakkers, J. D., Pandey, S., Houweling, S., Aben, I., Scarpelli, T., Jacob, D. J. 2019. Satellite Discovery of Anomalously Large Methane Point Sources From Oil/Gas Production. Geophysical Research Letters. 46(22), 13507-13516. DOI: 10.1029/2019GL083798

Zhang, Y., Gautam, R., Zavala-Araiza, D., Jacob, D. J., Zhang, R., Zhu, L., Sheng, J., Scarpelli, T. 2019. Satellite-Observed Changes in Mexico's Offshore Gas Flaring Activity Linked to Oil/Gas Regulations. Geophysical Research Letters. 46(3), 1879-1888. DOI: 10.1029/2018GL081145

Zhang, Y., Jacob, D. J., Lu, X., Maasakkers, J. D., Scarpelli, T. R., Sheng, J., Shen, L., Qu, Z., Sulprizio, M. P., Chang, J., Bloom, A. A., Ma, S., Worden, J., Parker, R. J., Boesch, H. 2021. Attribution of the accelerating increase in atmospheric methane during 2010-2018 by inverse analysis of GOSAT observations. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 21(5), 3643-3666. DOI: 10.5194/acp-21-3643-2021

Zhang, Y., Jacob, D. J., Maasakkers, J. D., Sulprizio, M. P., Sheng, J., Gautam, R., Worden, J. 2018. Monitoring global tropospheric OH concentrations using satellite observations of atmospheric methane. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 18(21), 15959-15973. DOI: 10.5194/acp-18-15959-2018

More details may be found in the following project profile(s):

• North American Carbon Program (NACP) Project Profile
• NASA Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) Project Profile