US Methane Emissions Surpass Previous Estimates
By Countercurrents.org
27 November, 2013
Countercurrents.org
Government calculations of total US methane emissions may underestimate the true values by 50 percent, finds a new study.
The study found large discrepancies with government estimates in some regions of the US , particularly the south-central US, where total methane emissions were 2.7 times greater than those reported in most inventories.
Emissions from oil and gas drilling and processing in this region could account for 50% of that total, representing a source of methane almost five times higher than in the most commonly used global emissions database.
The study results are published the week of November 25 in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , and cast doubt on a recent Environmental Protection Agency decision to downscale its emissions estimate.
Carnegie's Anna Michalak, Harvard's Scot Miller and Steven Wofsy, and colleagues used atmospheric methane observations from across North America in 2007 and 2008 to improve estimates of methane gas emissions from a variety of human sources, including agriculture and fossil fuel drilling and refining.
Methane is the second-most important GHG after carbon dioxide, and the study findings may help inform national and state greenhouse gas reduction strategies, according to the authors.
The team used modeling tools developed by Michalak's lab that make it possible to trace variations in atmospheric methane measurements back to emissions throughout the US, and to relate the emissions to known economic sectors. The methods thereby provide a direct constraint on total emissions, as well as provide insight into what is behind them.
Story Source:
The story is based on materials provided by Carnegie Institution.
Journal Reference: S. M. Miller, S. C. Wofsy, A. M. Michalak, E. A. Kort, A. E. Andrews, S. C. Biraud, E. J. Dlugokencky, J. Eluszkiewicz, M. L. Fischer, G. Janssens-Maenhout, B. R. Miller, J. B. Miller, S. A. Montzka, T. Nehrkorn, C. Sweeney. Anthropogenic emissions of methane in the United States . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1314392110
Source:
Carnegie Institution (2013, November 25). Methane emissions vastly surpass previous estimates. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 27, 2013 , from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2013/11/131125164442.htm
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