title: Aircraft-Based Estimate of Total Methane Emissions from the Barnett Shale Region.
abstract: We present estimates of regional methane (CH4) emissions from oil and natural gas operations in the Barnett Shale, Texas, using airborne atmospheric measurements. Using a mass balance approach on eight different flight days in March and October 2013, the total CH4 emissions for the region are estimated to be 76 ± 13 × 10(3) kg hr(-1) (equivalent to 0.66 ± 0.11 Tg CH4 yr(-1); 95% confidence interval (CI)). We estimate that 60 ± 11 × 10(3) kg CH4 hr(-1) (95% CI) are emitted by natural gas and oil operations, including production, processing, and distribution in the urban areas of Dallas and Fort Worth. This estimate agrees with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimate for nationwide CH4 emissions from the natural gas sector when scaled by natural gas production, but it is higher than emissions reported by the EDGAR inventory or by industry to EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. This study is the first to show consistency between mass balance results on so many different days and in two different seasons, enabling better quantification of the related uncertainty. The Barnett is one of the largest production basins in the United States, with 8% of total U.S. natural gas production, and thus, our results represent a crucial step toward determining the greenhouse gas footprint of U.S. onshore natural gas production.
authors.affiliation: †University of Colorado, CIRES, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.|‡NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder 80305, Colorado, United States.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karion
authors.affiliation: †University of Colorado, CIRES, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.|‡NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder 80305, Colorado, United States.
authors.forename: Colm
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sweeney
authors.affiliation: §University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kort
authors.affiliation: ∥Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Shepson
authors.affiliation: ‡NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder 80305, Colorado, United States.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brewer
authors.affiliation: ∥Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cambaliza
authors.affiliation: ⊥University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616, United States.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Conley
authors.affiliation: #Carbon Now Cast, LLC, State College, Pennsylvania 16803, United States.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: #Carbon Now Cast, LLC, State College, Pennsylvania 16803, United States.
authors.forename: Aijun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: †University of Colorado, CIRES, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.|‡NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder 80305, Colorado, United States.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hardesty
authors.affiliation: ∇Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts 01821, United States.
authors.forename: Scott C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Herndon
authors.affiliation: #Carbon Now Cast, LLC, State College, Pennsylvania 16803, United States.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lauvaux
authors.affiliation: ∥Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
authors.forename: Tegan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.affiliation: ○Environmental Defense Fund, Austin, Texas 78701, United States.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lyon
authors.affiliation: †University of Colorado, CIRES, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.|‡NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder 80305, Colorado, United States.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Newberger
authors.affiliation: †University of Colorado, CIRES, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.|‡NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder 80305, Colorado, United States.
authors.forename: Gabrielle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pétron
authors.affiliation: ◆Picarro, Inc., Santa Clara, California 95054, United States.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rella
authors.affiliation: §University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Mackenzie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: †University of Colorado, CIRES, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.|‡NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder 80305, Colorado, United States.
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wolter
authors.affiliation: ∇Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts 01821, United States.
authors.forename: Tara I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Yacovitch
authors.affiliation: ‡NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder 80305, Colorado, United States.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tans
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000401:Aircraft; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D008697:Methane / Q000032:analysis*; D061329:Oil and Gas Fields; D013781:Texas
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D008697:Methane