diff --git a/stories/us-methane-sources.stories.mdx b/stories/us-methane-sources.stories.mdx index b1bf7598d..40182fd66 100644 --- a/stories/us-methane-sources.stories.mdx +++ b/stories/us-methane-sources.stories.mdx @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ --- id: "us-methane-sources" name: Gridded Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas Emissions -description: "Mapping human-caused sources of methane across the U.S. provides insight into source and emission trends. This geographic representation enables new comparisons between emission locations and includes methane estimates informed by atmospheric observations. The aim is to improve national and state-level methane emission estimates." +description: "Mapping human-caused sources of methane across the U.S. provides insight into sources and recent trends. This geographic representation enables new comparisons between emission inventory estimates and methane estimates informed by atmospheric observations. The aim is to improve estimates of U.S. methane emissions." media: src: ::file ./total-methane-2020.png alt: Map of total U.S. gridded methane emissions in the year 2020 @@ -21,9 +21,7 @@ taxonomy:
- - A potent greenhouse gas, methane is responsible for about one third of all global warming that results from human activities. Methane also traps more heat than carbon dioxide and has a relatively shorter lifeline in our atmosphere. This makes finding and limiting methane emissions one of the best opportunities for reducing climate change. Locating and mapping U.S. sources of methane emissions can provide insights into emission trends and improve national and state-level estimates. Detailed maps also allow for more direct comparisons of methane emissions, thereby helping to improve the information used to track progress towards collective climate goals. - + A potent greenhouse gas, methane is responsible for about one third of all global warming that results from human activities. Methane also traps more heat than carbon dioxide and has a relatively shorter lifetime in our atmosphere. This makes finding and limiting methane emissions one of the best opportunities for reducing climate change. Locating and mapping U.S. sources of methane emissions can provide insights into recent emission trends and improve national estimates. Detailed maps also allow for more direct comparisons of methane emissions from inventories and those calculated from atmospheric observations, thereby helping to improve the information used to track progress towards our collective climate goals.
@@ -33,7 +31,7 @@ taxonomy: ## Tracking and Mapping Methane - Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas behind carbon dioxide (CO₂). Over the last two centuries, methane concentrations in the atmosphere have more than doubled, largely due to human-related activities. While there are natural sources of methane emissions, most methane comes from human activities in agriculture and water industries such as landfills, wastewater treatment, and other industrial processes. Additional human emissions of methane are coal mining, stationary and mobile combustion, and oil and natural gas systems. Because methane is a powerful GHG and has a relatively shorter lifetime in the atmosphere than CO₂, reducing methane emissions is one of the best opportunities for reducing near term global warming. + Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas behind carbon dioxide (CO₂). Over the last two centuries, methane concentrations in the atmosphere have more than doubled, largely due to human-related activities. While there are natural sources of methane emissions, most methane comes from human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas systems, landfills, wastewater treatment, coal mining, stationary and mobile combustion, and other industrial processes. Because methane is a powerful GHG and has a relatively shorter lifetime in the atmosphere than CO₂, reducing methane emissions is one of the best opportunities for reducing near term global warming. Follow these links for more information on the [importance of methane](https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane), [global methane budget](https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/methanebudget/index.htm), and [observed trends](https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_ch4/) in global atmospheric concentrations. @@ -63,7 +61,7 @@ taxonomy: ## GHG Inventories - A Fundamental Tool Promoting International Climate Change Cooperation - The [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1695419649511030&usg=AOvVaw2r_M3u40Dcb9U77HDrHNRx) (UNFCCC) is an international treaty that established a framework for international cooperation to achieve “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” (Article 2). Towards this end, signatories to the UNFCCC are committed to developing and reporting “national inventories of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases” (Article 4). These inventories provide a scientific basis for tracking and planning emission mitigation efforts to achieve the long-term objective of the Convention. Inventory reporting is also a continued commitment under the 2015 U.N. Paris Agreement. + The 1992 [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1695419649511030&usg=AOvVaw2r_M3u40Dcb9U77HDrHNRx) (UNFCCC) is an international treaty that established a framework for international cooperation to achieve “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” (Article 2). Towards this end, signatories to the UNFCCC are committed to developing and reporting “national inventories of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases” (Article 4). These inventories provide a scientific basis for tracking and planning emission mitigation efforts to achieve the long-term objective of the Convention. Inventory reporting is also a continued commitment under the 2015 U.N. Paris Agreement. @@ -71,7 +69,7 @@ taxonomy: ## Creating GHG Inventories with a Consistent Methodology - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issues GHG methodology reports to assist in the development of internationally consistent, transparent, accurate, complete, and comparable inventories of national GHG emissions and sinks ([2006, IPCC](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.html)). These methods are largely based on an approach that uses human activity data (e.g., tons of fuel used), combined with factors that quantify the amount of GHGs emitted or removed per unit of activity (e.g., tons of CO₂ emitted per tons of fuel used).These methods can be more or less complex depending on the type of data available for a given emissions source or GHG. + The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has generated a number of methodology reports on national greenhouse gas inventories with a view of proving internationally acceptable inventory methodologies ([2006, IPCC](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.html)). These methods are largely based on an approach that uses human activity data (e.g., tons of fuel used), combined with factors that quantify the amount of GHGs emitted or removed per unit of activity (e.g., tons of CO₂ emitted per tons of fuel used).These methods can be more or less complex depending on the type of data available for a given emissions source or GHG. Currently, national inventories reported to the UNFCCC are required to use methods consistent with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories ([2006, IPCC](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.html)), and its subsequent supplements and refinements, where appropriate. @@ -90,9 +88,9 @@ taxonomy: ## Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks - As a Party to the UNFCCC, the U.S. annually submits a national inventory of GHGs to the U.N. each year, called the [Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (GHGI)](https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks). The EPA has prepared this report since the early 1990s. The GHGI represents official U.S. Government data on national anthropogenic GHG emissions and uses IPCC Guidelines to calculate the annual time series of national emissions and sinks for seven GHGs (including methane), by source and economic sector. + As a Party to the UNFCCC, the U.S. annually submits a national inventory of GHGs to the U.N., called the [Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (GHGI)](https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks). The EPA has prepared this report since the early 1990s. The GHGI represents official U.S. Government data on national anthropogenic GHG emissions and uses IPCC Guidelines to calculate the annual time series of national emissions and sinks for seven GHGs (including methane), by source and economic sector. - Separately through the [Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP)](https://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting), the EPA also collects annual GHG emissions data (including methane) from individual facilities and suppliers of certain fossil fuels and industrial gases that emit more than 25,000 metric tons or more of CO₂ equivalent per year. Unlike the national Inventory, the GHGRP does not provide full coverage of total annual anthropogenic U.S. GHG emissions, but is used in part to help develop the inventory. + Separately through the [Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP)](https://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting), the EPA also collects annual GHG emissions data (including methane) from individual facilities and suppliers of certain fossil fuels and industrial gases that emit more than 25,000 metric tons or more of CO₂ equivalent per year. Unlike the national Inventory, the GHGRP does not provide full coverage of total annual anthropogenic U.S. GHG emissions, but is an important complementary dataset that is used in part to help develop the GHGI. @@ -110,9 +108,9 @@ taxonomy: - ## Identifying Areas for Improvement in US Methane Estimates with Atmospheric Observations + ## Identifying Areas for Improvement in US Methane Estimates using Atmospheric Observations - There have been important advancements over the last two decades in measuring atmospheric methane using instruments on satellites, aircraft, and mobile platforms. These observations can help to identify potential areas for improvement in the national inventory. For example, scientists can now use inverse modeling to estimate methane emissions from atmospheric observations. This is a mathematical technique to infer emissions from observed concentrations, which has revolutionized the ability to estimate methane emissions from relatively more uncertain sources, such as biological activity, leaks, and other fugitive events. However, it remains difficult to directly compare singlar observation-based estimates to the total annual U.S. emissions reported in the GHGI. Therefore a more localized spatial representation of inventory emissions is needed to enable these types of comparisons (2019 IPCC Refinements). + There have been important advancements over the last two decades in measuring atmospheric methane using instruments on satellites, aircraft, and mobile platforms. These observations can help to identify potential areas for improvement in the national inventory. For example, scientists can now use inverse modeling to estimate methane emissions from atmospheric observations. This is a mathematical technique to infer emissions from observed concentrations, which has revolutionized the ability to estimate methane emissions from relatively more uncertain sources, such as biological activity, leaks, and other fugitive events. However, it remains difficult to directly compare singular observation-based estimates to the total annual U.S. emissions reported in the GHGI. Therefore a more localized spatial and temporal representation of inventory emissions is needed to enable these types of comparisons ([2019 IPCC Refinements](https://www.ipcc.ch/report/2019-refinement-to-the-2006-ipcc-guidelines-for-national-greenhouse-gas-inventories/)).
- {/* NOAA CH₄ concentration map */}
@@ -146,9 +143,9 @@ taxonomy: - ## A Spatial U.S. Methane Emissions Dataset for Research + ## A Dataset for Research of Spatial U.S. Methane Emissions - The gridded methane GHGI has been developed to enable more direct comparisons between atmospheric observations and U.S. inventory estimates. This dataset currently includes maps of U.S. methane emissions from human activity from over 25 individual sources, at the 10 x 10 km scale, for the years 2012 through 2020. In contrast to other ‘gridded’ emission products, this dataset is consistent with the U.S. GHGI, meaning that when summed, gridded methane estimates will equal the total methane emissions from the contiguous U.S. in the national GHGI. As discussed in a recent [paper](https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/5623/), this consistency is maintained by allocating national GHGI methane emissions from each source category to each grid cell using, where available, the same activity data (e.g., animal counts, gas well locations and production volumes, etc.) that was used to calculate the original national inventory estimates. This dataset was developed in collaboration between researchers at the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Harvard University, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), and the EPA. + The gridded methane GHGI has been developed to enable more direct comparisons between atmospheric observations and U.S. inventory estimates. This dataset currently includes maps of U.S. methane emissions from human activity from over 25 individual sources, at the 10 x 10 km scale, for the years 2012 through 2020. In contrast to other ‘gridded’ emission products, this dataset is consistent with the U.S. GHGI, meaning that when summed, gridded methane estimates will equal the total methane emissions from the contiguous U.S. in the national GHGI. As discussed in a recent [paper](https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/5623/), this consistency is maintained by allocating national GHGI methane emissions from each source category to each grid cell using, where available, the same activity data (e.g., animal counts, gas well locations and production volumes, etc.) that was used to calculate the original national inventory estimates. This dataset was developed in collaboration between researchers at the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Harvard University, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), and the U.S. EPA. @@ -218,7 +215,7 @@ taxonomy: - ## The Spatial Patterns of Some Emission Sources Change Overtime + ## The Spatial Patterns of Emission Sources Change Overtime While total national methane emissions in the U.S. GHGI declined between 2012 and 2020, the gridded dataset reveals that these trends are not the same across all regions or emission sources.
@@ -316,7 +313,7 @@ taxonomy: - [U.S. national methane emissions](https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks) - [U.S. state-level methane emissions](https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/state-and-tribal-greenhouse-gas-data-and-resources) - [U.S. individual facility emissions](https://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting) - - [The gridded methane emission research dataset from the EPA](https://zenodo.org/record/7672124) + - [The EPA gridded methane emissions dataset](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.3c05138) @@ -324,6 +321,6 @@ taxonomy: ## Disclaimers - This gridded methane emissions dataset has been peer-reviewed as part of the associated manuscript, Maasakkers et al., 2023. Please see the Gridded Anthropogenic Methane Emissions Inventory dataset landing page and links in the resources for additional details. + This gridded methane emissions dataset has been peer-reviewed as part of the associated manuscript, Maasakkers et al., 2023. Please see the Gridded Anthropogenic Methane Emissions Inventory dataset landing page and links in the resources for additional details.