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- Title
Atmospheric Methane Emissions Correlate With Natural Gas Consumption From Residential and Commercial Sectors in Los Angeles.
- Authors
He, Liyin; Zeng, Zhao‐Cheng; Pongetti, Thomas J.; Wong, Clare; Liang, Jianming; Gurney, Kevin R.; Newman, Sally; Yadav, Vineet; Verhulst, Kristal; Miller, Charles E.; Duren, Riley; Frankenberg, Christian; Wennberg, Paul O.; Shia, Run‐Lie; Yung, Yuk L.; Sander, Stanley P.
- Abstract
Legislation in the State of California mandates reductions in emissions of short‐lived climate pollutants of 40% from 2013 levels by 2030 for CH4. Identification of the sector(s) responsible for these emissions and their temporal and spatial variability is a key step in achieving these goals. Here, we determine the emissions of CH4 in Los Angeles from 2011–2017 using a mountaintop remote sensing mapping spectrometer. We show that the pattern of CH4 emissions contains both seasonal and nonseasonal contributions. We find that the seasonal component peaks in the winter and is correlated (R2 = 0.58) with utility natural gas consumption from the residential and commercial sectors and not from the industrial and gas‐fired power plant sectors. The nonseasonal component is (22.9 ± 1.4) Gg CH4/month. If the seasonal correlation is causal, about (1.4 ± 0.1)% of the commercial and residential natural gas consumption in Los Angeles is released into the atmosphere. Plain Language Summary: CH4 is a desirable target for greenhouse gas emission reductions because emission controls will have a rapid impact on radiative forcing. However, its emission budget is highly uncertain and poorly quantified. This paper reports new results from a novel mountaintop remote sensing spectrometer overlooking the Los Angeles basin. The study shows that the megacity's methane emissions are strongly correlated with the consumption of natural gas by residential and commercial consumers, with a leakage rate of (1.4 ± 0.1)%, while the nonseasonal component is (22.9 ± 1.4) Gg CH4/month. By identifying a clear relationship between CH4 emissions and natural gas consumption, our results provide strong constraints on the pathways for fugitive CH4 emissions from the natural gas distribution system in Los Angeles. Key Points: A mountaintop remote sensing spectrometer is used to derive the time series and spatial pattern of methane emissions in LA basinThe methane emissions in the LA basin are strongly correlated with the consumption of natural gas by residential and commercial consumersAbout (1.4 ± 0.1)% of the residential and commercial natural gas consumption in LA is released into the atmosphere
- Subjects
LOS Angeles (Calif.); ATMOSPHERIC methane; NATURAL gas consumption; GAS distribution; GREENHOUSE gas mitigation; FUGITIVE emissions; GAS companies
- Publication
Geophysical Research Letters, 2019, Vol 46, Issue 14, p8563
- ISSN
0094-8276
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2019GL083400