title: Aircraft-Based Measurements of Point Source Methane Emissions in the Barnett Shale Basin.
abstract: We report measurements of methane (CH4) emission rates observed at eight different high-emitting point sources in the Barnett Shale, Texas, using aircraft-based methods performed as part of the Barnett Coordinated Campaign. We quantified CH4 emission rates from four gas processing plants, one compressor station, and three landfills during five flights conducted in October 2013. Results are compared to other aircraft- and surface-based measurements of the same facilities, and to estimates based on a national study of gathering and processing facilities emissions and 2013 annual average emissions reported to the U.S. EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). For the eight sources, CH4 emission measurements from the aircraft-based mass balance approach were a factor of 3.2-5.8 greater than the GHGRP-based estimates. Summed emissions totaled 7022 ± 2000 kg hr(-1), roughly 9% of the entire basin-wide CH4 emissions estimated from regional mass balance flights during the campaign. Emission measurements from five natural gas management facilities were 1.2-4.6 times larger than emissions based on the national study. Results from this study were used to represent "super-emitters" in a newly formulated Barnett Shale Inventory, demonstrating the importance of targeted sampling of "super-emitters" that may be missed by random sampling of a subset of the total.
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
authors.forename: Tegan N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.|‡Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and Purdue Climate Change Research Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Shepson
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
authors.forename: Maria O L
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Cambaliza
authors.affiliation: §Department of Aviation Technology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
authors.forename: Brian H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Stirm
authors.affiliation: ∥CIRES, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.|⊥NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado 80305, United States.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karion
authors.affiliation: ∥CIRES, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.|⊥NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado 80305, United States.
authors.forename: Colm
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sweeney
authors.affiliation: ∇Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts 01821, United States.
authors.forename: Tara I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Yacovitch
authors.affiliation: ∇Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts 01821, United States.
authors.forename: Scott C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Herndon
authors.affiliation: ◆Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77004, United States.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.affiliation: ¶Environmental Defense Fund, Austin, Texas 78701, United States.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lyon
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000401:Aircraft; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D008697:Methane / Q000032:analysis*; D013781:Texas; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D008697:Methane