Rapid, Vehicle-Based Identification of Location and Magnitude of Urban Natural Gas Pipeline Leaks.
Information about the location and magnitudes of natural gas (NG) leaks from urban distribution pipelines is important for minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and optimizing investment in pipeline management. To enable rapid collection of such data, we developed a relatively simple method using high-precision methane analyzers in Google Street View cars. Our data indicate that this automated leak survey system can document patterns in leak location and magnitude within and among cities, even without wind data. We found that urban areas with prevalent corrosion-prone distribution lines (Boston, MA, Staten Island, NY, and Syracuse, NY), leaked approximately 25-fold more methane than cities with more modern pipeline materials (Burlington, VT, and Indianapolis, IN). Although this mobile monitoring method produces conservative estimates of leak rates and leak counts, it can still help prioritize both leak repairs and replacement of leak-prone sections of distribution lines, thus minimizing methane emissions over short and long terms.
Department of Biology, Colorado State University , 200 West Lake Street, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States.
Joseph C
0000-0001-5508-6073
JC
von Fischer
Department of Statistics, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States.
Daniel
D
Cooley
Department of Biology, Colorado State University , 200 West Lake Street, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States.
Sam
S
Chamberlain
Department of Biology, Colorado State University , 200 West Lake Street, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States.
Adam
A
Gaylord
Department of Biology, Colorado State University , 200 West Lake Street, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States.
Claire J
CJ
Griebenow
Environmental Defense Fund , 18 Tremont Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02108, United States.
Steven P
SP
Hamburg
Department of Geography, University of Northern Colorado , Greeley, Colorado 80639, United States.
Jessica
J
Salo
Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States.
Russ
R
Schumacher
Conservation Science Partners , 5 Old Town Square, Suite 205 Fort Collins, Colorado 80524, United States.
David
D
Theobald
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States.
Jay
J
Ham
D000393:Air Pollutants; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008697:Methane; D059206:Natural Gas
D000393:Air Pollutants; D059206:Natural Gas; D008697:Methane