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Atmospheric methane

About: Atmospheric methane is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2034 publications have been published within this topic receiving 119616 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Air quality planning should consider reducing methane emissions alongside NOx and NMVOCs, and industrialized nations should consider emphasizing methane in the further development of climate change or ozone policies.
Abstract: Background concentrations of tropospheric ozone are increasing and are sensitive to methane emissions, yet methane mitigation is currently considered only for climate change. Methane control is shown here to be viable for ozone management. Identified global abatement measures can reduce approximately 10% of anthropogenic methane emissions at a cost-savings, decreasing surface ozone by 0.4-0.7 ppb. Methane controls produce ozone reductions that are widespread globally and are realized gradually (approximately 12 yr). In contrast, controls on nitrogen oxides (NOx) and nonmethane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) target high-ozone episodes in polluted regions and affect ozone rapidly but have a smaller climate benefit. A coarse estimate of the monetized global benefits of ozone reductions for agriculture, forestry, and human health (neglecting ozone mortality) justifies reducing approximately 17% of global anthropogenic methane emissions. If implemented, these controls would decrease ozone by -1 ppb and radiative forcing by approximately 0.12 W m(-2). We also find that climate-motivated methane reductions have air quality-related ancillary benefits comparable to those for CO2. Air quality planning should consider reducing methane emissions alongside NOx and NMVOCs, and because the benefits of methane controls are shared internationally, industrialized nations should consider emphasizing methane in the further development of climate change or ozone policies.

81 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article showed that the methane in shale gas is somewhat depleted in 13C relative to conventional natural gas, and they concluded that shale gas production in North America over the past decade may have contributed more than half of all the increased emissions from fossil fuels globally and approximately one-third of the total increased greenhouse gas emissions from all sources globally.
Abstract: . Methane has been rising rapidly in the atmosphere over the past decade, contributing to global climate change. Unlike the late 20th century when the rise in atmospheric methane was accompanied by an enrichment in the heavier carbon stable isotope ( 13C ) of methane, methane in recent years has become more depleted in 13C . This depletion has been widely interpreted as indicating a primarily biogenic source for the increased methane. Here we show that part of the change may instead be associated with emissions from shale-gas and shale-oil development. Previous studies have not explicitly considered shale gas, even though most of the increase in natural gas production globally over the past decade is from shale gas. The methane in shale gas is somewhat depleted in 13C relative to conventional natural gas. Correcting earlier analyses for this difference, we conclude that shale-gas production in North America over the past decade may have contributed more than half of all of the increased emissions from fossil fuels globally and approximately one-third of the total increased emissions from all sources globally over the past decade.

81 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Overall, wet-gas basins had higher TNMA emissions than the dry-gas FV at all ranges of production per well pad, suggesting that consolidation of operations onto single pads may reduce normalized emissions.
Abstract: Atmospheric methane emissions from active natural gas production sites in normal operation were quantified using an inverse Gaussian method (EPA’s OTM 33a) in four major U.S. basins/plays: Upper Green River (UGR, Wyoming), Denver-Julesburg (DJ, Colorado), Uintah (Utah), and Fayetteville (FV, Arkansas). In DJ, Uintah, and FV, 72–83% of total measured emissions were from 20% of the well pads, while in UGR the highest 20% of emitting well pads only contributed 54% of total emissions. The total mass of methane emitted as a percent of gross methane produced, termed throughput-normalized methane average (TNMA) and determined by bootstrapping measurements from each basin, varied widely between basins and was (95% CI): 0.09% (0.05–0.15%) in FV, 0.18% (0.12–0.29%) in UGR, 2.1% (1.1–3.9%) in DJ, and 2.8% (1.0–8.6%) in Uintah. Overall, wet-gas basins (UGR, DJ, Uintah) had higher TNMA emissions than the dry-gas FV at all ranges of production per well pad. Among wet basins, TNMA emissions had a strong negative correla...

81 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Feb 1974-Tellus A
TL;DR: Low molecular weight hydrocarbons in the surface waters of the North and South Pacific have been measured in this article, and a large broad peak was found between 10° N and 10° S for the unsaturated molecules.
Abstract: Low molecular weight hydrocarbons in the surface waters of the North and South Pacific have been measured. Methane concentrations average 4.2 × 10 ?5 ml/1, while the C 2 -C 4 hydrocarbons averaged 1–5 × 10 ?6 ml/l. A large broad peak was found between 10° N and 10° S for the unsaturated hydrocarbons. Large concentrations of the C 1 -C 4 hydrocarbons were found in the different types of Antarctic sea ice. Atmospheric methane concentrations averaged 1.44 ± 0.04 ppm and decreased to 1.36 ± 0.04 ppm at the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITC). DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1974.tb01953.x

81 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that global foliar CH(4) emissions from UV-irradiated pectin could account for 0.2-1.0 Tg yr(-1), of which 60% is from tropical latitudes, corresponding to <0.2% of total CH( 4) sources.
Abstract: Summary •Several studies have reported in situ methane (CH4) emissions from vegetation foliage, but there remains considerable debate about its significance as a global source. Here, we report a study that evaluates the role of ultraviolet (UV) radiation-driven CH4 emissions from foliar pectin as a global CH4 source. •We combine a relationship for spectrally weighted CH4 production from pectin with a global UV irradiation climatology model, satellite-derived leaf area index (LAI) and air temperature data to estimate the potential global CH4 emissions from vegetation foliage. •Our results suggest that global foliar CH4 emissions from UV-irradiated pectin could account for 0.2–1.0 Tg yr−1, of which 60% is from tropical latitudes, corresponding to < 0.2% of total CH4 sources. •Our estimate is one to two orders of magnitude lower than previous estimates of global foliar CH4 emissions. Recent studies have reported that pectin is not the only molecular source of UV-driven CH4 emissions and that other environmental stresses may also generate CH4. Consequently, further evaluation of such mechanisms of CH4 generation is needed to confirm the contribution of foliage to the global CH4 budget.

81 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202395
2022153
202175
202077
201974
201872