Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Z. A. Tzompa-Sosa, E. Fischer
Summary: In many U.S. oil and gas-producing regions, emissions of C2-C5 alkanes dominate local anthropogenic sources, impacting secondary species production. Using the GEOS-Chem model, it was found that areas in the central United States with oil and gas production have the highest surface ozone enhancements in the summer. The Colorado Front Range stands out as the most impacted area with significant increases in ozone and VOC reactivity from oil and gas sources.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hongfang Lu, Zhao-Dong Xu, Kaihui Song, Y. Frank Cheng, Shaohua Dong, Hongyuan Fang, Haoyan Peng, Yun Fu, Dongmin Xi, Zizhe Han, Xinmeng Jiang, Yao-Rong Dong, Panpan Gai, Zhiwei Shan, Yuli Shan
Summary: Crude oil pipelines are critical to the energy industry, but accidents can have severe public health and environmental impacts, with greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane, often overlooked. This study provides the first-ever inventory of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from crude oil pipeline accidents in the United States from 1968 to 2020, revealing that gathering pipelines contribute more emissions than transmission pipelines. Texas accounts for over 40% of the total accident-related emissions. The findings enhance the accuracy of greenhouse gas accounting for crude oil transport and support data-driven climate mitigation strategies.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Julien Joliat, Sylvain Picaud, Antoine Patt, Pal Jedlovszky
Summary: In this paper, grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations were used to investigate the adsorption of four linear alcohol molecules on crystalline ice. The results showed that the aliphatic chains of the adsorbed molecules reoriented with increasing coverage. The simulated data exhibited good agreement with experimental data, although there might be a temperature shift and underestimation of lateral interactions between larger alcohol molecules. This study demonstrates the applicability of the method in modeling studies in meteorology and astrophysics.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qining Chen, Colette Schissel, Yosuke Kimura, Gary McGaughey, Elena McDonald-Buller, David T. Allen
Summary: Continuous monitoring systems are used to detect methane emissions at oil and gas production sites, but their effectiveness depends on various factors. This study evaluates the effectiveness of continuous sensor networks in detecting different types of emission events using case studies. The results show that the detection of emissions varies depending on the number of sensors deployed and the characteristics of the emission events. The analysis framework presented in this study can be applied in the evaluation of continuous emission monitoring network designs.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Andreas Knebl, Christian Domes, Robert Domes, Sebastian Wolf, Juergen Popp, Torsten Frosch
Summary: Power-to-gas is a heavily discussed option for storing surplus electricity from renewable sources by feeding generated hydrogen into the gas grid. Frequent monitoring of gas is necessary to ensure safety and stable operation. Raman gas spectroscopy is favored for future point-of-use monitoring, offering comprehensive analysis of fuel gas components.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yash Dixit, Hassan El-Houjeiri, Jean-Christophe Monfort, Liang Jing, Yiqi Zhang, James Littlefield, Wennan Long, Christoph Falter, Alhassan Badahdah, Joule Bergerson, Raymond L. Speth, Steven R. H. Barrett
Summary: The transition in the energy mix has increased the need for accurate emissions reporting in the petroleum supply chain. Current carbon footprint assessments lack resolution and traceability, leading to poor visibility into carbon intensities in crude oil trading. Through the use of high-fidelity datasets and optimization algorithms, this study reveals significant variability in carbon intensities at the level of crude trade pathways. By prioritizing low-carbon supply chain pathways, additional CO2-equivalent savings can be realized.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Business
Andre Varella Mollick, Md Ismail Haidar
Summary: This paper examines the response of firm value in the U.S. oil and gas sector to carbon emissions intensity measures. It finds that carbon emissions reduction has a greater impact on the firm value of fracking companies.
BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Sara Yasemi, Yasin Khalili, Ali Sanati, Mohammadreza Bagheri
Summary: This paper provides a comprehensive review of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, covering its key components, carbon storage methods and stages, environmental effects, pros and cons, as well as the challenges of implementation in the oil and gas industry. It also examines the regulatory and policy issues associated with CCS and discusses its potential benefits.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Uisung Lee, Hoyoung Kwon, May Wu, Michael Wang
Summary: This study conducted a retrospective analysis of the changes in US corn ethanol greenhouse gas emission intensity from 2005 to 2019, showing a significant decrease of 23%. Factors contributing to this decrease included increased corn grain yield, decreased fertilizer inputs, increased ethanol yield, and reduced ethanol plant energy use. The total GHG emission reduction benefits in the ethanol industry from 2005 to 2019 were estimated at 140 million metric tons, with an additional 544 MMT CO(2)e reduction benefit from displacing petroleum gasoline with corn ethanol in the transportation fuel market.
BIOFUELS BIOPRODUCTS & BIOREFINING-BIOFPR
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Qining Chen, Jennifer B. Dunn, David T. Allen
Summary: This study estimated greenhouse gas emissions from 135 commodity chemical manufacturing processes in the United States, finding that a small number of process types dominate the total emissions. The study highlights the importance of accurately characterizing emissions from upstream production of feedstock sources with consistent and transparent metrics to identify emission reduction opportunities and assess greenhouse gas benefits from product recycling.
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maryann R. Sargent, Cody Floerchinger, Kathryn McKain, John Budney, Elaine W. Gottlieb, Lucy R. Hutyra, Joseph Rudek, Steven C. Wofsy
Summary: The top-down study on methane emissions from natural gas in the Boston urban region over 8 years showed no significant trend in the loss rate, with consumption-driven losses potentially accounting for missing emissions in inventories. Comparisons with estimates from six US cities suggest that distribution and end use losses from natural gas supply chain may contribute significantly to total emissions, indicating a need for future policy action.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Muhammad Shahbaz, Naim Rashid, Junaid Saleem, Hamish Mackey, Gordon McKay, Tareq Al-Ansari
Summary: Globally, the oil and gas industry generates significant amounts of waste, such as produced water, oil sludge, and flue gases, which have a negative impact on the environment. It is crucial to implement treatment and safe handling measures for this waste. Recent research indicates that for sustainable waste management in the oil and gas industry, it should be coupled with resource recovery and re-utilization concepts as part of a circular economy approach. This involves converting waste into valuable products, reducing environmental impacts, and supporting industry sustainability.
Review
Energy & Fuels
T. Suchocki, P. Kazimierski, P. Lampart, K. Januszewicz, T. Bialecki, B. Gawron, A. Janicka
Summary: The demand for sustainable energy has fostered the development of alternative fuels. The study focuses on pentanol, a potential fuel for diesel engines and gas turbines. Results show that pentanol blends have the potential to reduce emissions and lower temperatures, while decreasing fuel efficiency.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Alison R. Marklein, Deanne Meyer, Marc L. Fischer, Seongeun Jeong, Talha Rafiq, Michelle Carr, Francesca M. Hopkins
Summary: This study developed a spatially explicit database of dairies in California, calculating CH4 emissions based on operating permits and California-specific reports, and estimated the impact of mitigation strategies. The results show that implementing digesters at existing or planned 106 dairies in California will significantly reduce CH4 emissions.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Qixin Ma, Quanchang Zhang, Zunqing Zheng
Summary: The study found that the increase in EGR rates and ethanol content in DB blends can affect combustion characteristics and emissions. Ultimately, using diesel/biodiesel/ethanol ternary fuels under medium EGR rates may be a better choice for diesel engines.
Article
Physics, Atomic, Molecular & Chemical
Muhammad Osama Ishtiak, Orfeo Colebatch, Karine Le Bris, Paul J. Godin, Kimberly Strong
Summary: Perfluoroalkanes are fully fluorinated greenhouse gases with long atmospheric lifetimes. Despite regulation, their concentrations have continued to increase. This study provides spectral data for perfluoro-n-heptane and perfluoro-n-octane to calculate climate metrics. The results show agreement with literature values and reveal no significant temperature dependence.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Janica N. D. Gordon, Kelsey R. R. Bilsback, Marc N. N. Fiddler, Rudra P. P. Pokhrel, Emily V. V. Fischer, Jeffrey R. R. Pierce, Solomon Bililign
Summary: Long-term exposure to PM2.5 is the second leading risk factor of premature death in Sub-Saharan Africa. Trash burning, residential solid-fuel burning, and open biomass burning contribute to global and regional PM2.5 pollution and premature mortality. Central Africa has the highest PM2.5-attributed mortalities from open biomass burning, while North Africa and West Africa have the most regional mortalities from trash burning and residential solid-fuel burning, respectively.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Golam Sarwar, Christian Hogrefe, Barron H. Henderson, Kristen Foley, Rohit Mathur, Ben Murphy, Shoeb Ahmed
Summary: We analyzed PM2.5 concentrations measured at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka from 2016 to 2021 and found that they vary seasonally, with the highest levels in winter and the lowest in monsoon seasons. Winter mean PM2.5 concentrations reached approximately 165-175 μg/m³, while monsoon concentrations remained around 30-35 μg/m³. The annual mean PM2.5 concentration was about 5-6 times higher than the Bangladesh annual standard of 15 μg/m³. The number of days exceeding the daily PM2.5 standard of 65 μg/m³ approached nearly 50%.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Golam Sarwar, Daiwen Kang, Barron H. Henderson, Christian Hogrefe, Wyat Appel, Rohit Mathur
Summary: We investigated the impact of DMS emissions on sulfate concentrations over the continental U.S. using the CMAQ model version 5.4. The inclusion of DMS emissions increased sulfate concentrations by 36% over seawater and 9% over land on an annual basis. The largest increases occurred in California, Oregon, Washington, and Florida, with a 25% increase in annual mean sulfate concentrations.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
T. Wizenberg, K. Strong, D. B. A. Jones, E. Lutsch, E. Mahieu, B. Franco, L. Clarisse
Summary: During August 17-22, 2017, significant increases in the total columns of CO, PAN, C2H4, CH3OH, and HCOOH were observed in the Canadian high Arctic, which were attributed to wildfires in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories of Canada. The emission factors of C2H4 and HCOOH were found to be higher than previous studies, indicating unusually high emissions from these fires. Simulations using the GEOS-Chem model showed that adjusting the injection heights significantly improved the agreement between model results and observations.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2023)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Wenyi Du, Paul R. Hernandez, Amanda S. Adams, Sandra M. Clinton, Rebecca T. Barnes, Melissa Burt, Ilana Pollack, Emily V. Fischer
Summary: Efforts to diversify STEM fields haven't eradicated higher dropout rates of women in certain STEM disciplines, such as geosciences. While a diverse mentorship network is associated with STEM persistence, the specific role it plays in fostering persistence is unclear. This longitudinal study examines whether a student's sense of belonging in university mediates the relationship between the diversity of their mentor network and their interest in geoscience.
MENTORING & TUTORING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kirk R. Baker, Heather Simon, Barron Henderson, Colby Tucker, David Cooley, Emma Zinsmeister
Summary: In this study, a reduced complexity tool called PCAPS is described and evaluated for estimating PM2.5 and O3 concentrations at any source location in the United States. The tool's accuracy in predicting air pollution changes is validated by comparing it with more sophisticated modeling systems.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Shoma Yamanouchi, Stephanie Conway, Kimberly Strong, Orfeo Colebatch, Erik Lutsch, Sebastien Roche, Jeffrey Taylor, Cynthia H. Whaley, Aldona Wiacek
Summary: This study presents 19 years of atmospheric composition measurements obtained from the University of Toronto Atmospheric Observatory using FTIR technology. The data, including 14 different species, have been archived and made publicly available, highlighting the scientific significance of this research.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ivan Ortega, Benjamin Gaubert, James W. Hannigan, Guy Brasseur, Helen M. Worden, Thomas Blumenstock, Hao Fu, Frank Hase, Pascal Jeseck, Nicholas Jones, Cheng Liu, Emmanuel Mahieu, Isamu Morino, Isao Murata, Justus Notholt, Mathias Palm, Amelie Roehling, Yao Te, Kimberly Strong, Youwen Sun, Shoma Yamanouchi
Summary: This study quantifies the anomalies of tropospheric ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), acetylene (C2H2), formaldehyde (H2CO), and ethane (C2H6) during the global COVID-19 lockdown using ground-based Fourier-transform infrared spectrometers. The results show a decrease in tropospheric ozone and formaldehyde, as well as a mixed response in carbon monoxide depending on the location. The simulations reproduce these anomalies and suggest that natural variability plays a significant role.
ELEMENTA-SCIENCE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Qian Shu, Sergey L. Napelenok, William T. Hutzell, Kirk R. Baker, Barron H. Henderson, Benjamin N. Murphy, Christian Hogrefe
Summary: The Integrated Source Apportionment Method (ISAM) has been revised to improve its flexibility in ozone modeling. The updated ISAM provides various attribution options and has been incorporated into the latest version of the CMAQ model. This study aims to document the updates and evaluate their impacts on source apportionment for ozone and its precursors.
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Adrien Vu Van, Anne Boynard, Pascal Prunet, Dominique Jolivet, Olivier Lezeaux, Patrice Henry, Claude Camy-Peyret, Lieven Clarisse, Bruno Franco, Pierre-Francois Coheur, Cathy Clerbaux
Summary: The three IASI instruments on board the Metop satellites have been measuring atmospheric composition since 2006. They can measure over 30 atmospheric gases, improving weather forecasting and monitoring atmospheric chemistry and climate variables. The near-real-time observations and good horizontal coverage of IASI contribute to the detection of exceptional atmospheric events to support operational decisions.
ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Brendan Byrne, David F. Baker, Sourish Basu, Michael Bertolacci, Kevin W. Bowman, Dustin Carroll, Abhishek Chatterjee, Frederic Chevallier, Philippe Ciais, Noel Cressie, David Crisp, Sean Crowell, Feng Deng, Zhu Deng, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Manvendra K. Dubey, Sha Feng, Omaira E. Garcia, David W. T. Griffith, Benedikt Herkommer, Lei Hu, Andrew R. Jacobson, Rajesh Janardanan, Sujong Jeong, Matthew S. Johnson, Dylan B. A. Jones, Rigel Kivi, Junjie Liu, Zhiqiang Liu, Shamil Maksyutov, John B. Miller, Scot M. Miller, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Tomohiro Oda, Christopher W. O'Dell, Young-Suk Oh, Hirofumi Ohyama, Prabir K. Patra, Helene Peiro, Christof Petri, Sajeev Philip, David F. Pollard, Benjamin Poulter, Marine Remaud, Andrew Schuh, Mahesh K. Sha, Kei Shiomi, Kimberly Strong, Colm Sweeney, Yao Te, Hanqin Tian, Voltaire A. Velazco, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Thorsten Warneke, John R. Worden, Debra Wunch, Yuanzhi Yao, Jeongmin Yun, Andrew Zammit-Mangion, Ning Zeng
Summary: Accurate accounting of CO2 emissions and removals is crucial for emission reduction targets, and this study provides a pilot dataset of net carbon exchange and terrestrial carbon stock changes for different countries to inform carbon budgets. The estimates are based on top-down modeling outputs using OCO-2 data, combined with bottom-up estimates of fossil fuel emissions and lateral carbon fluxes. Increases in terrestrial carbon stocks are observed, particularly in the northern extra tropics, while the tropics show variable stock losses. The study discusses the current state and future developments of top-down monitoring and verification systems for tracking emissions and removals.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Nasrin Mostafavi Pak, Jacob K. Hedelius, Sebastien Roche, Liz Cunningham, Bianca Baier, Colm Sweeney, Coleen Roehl, Joshua Laughner, Geoffrey Toon, Paul Wennberg, Harrison Parker, Colin Arrowsmith, Joseph Mendonca, Pierre Fogal, Tyler Wizenberg, Beatriz Herrera, Kimberly Strong, Kaley A. Walker, Felix Vogel, Debra Wunch
Summary: EM27/SUN devices are portable solar-viewing Fourier transform spectrometers used widely for greenhouse gas measurements. In a 6-week-long campaign, the devices were taken to five TCCON stations to evaluate their performance and constrain site-to-site bias. New data products were developed using previous and current versions of the retrieval algorithm. The measurements remained consistent with each other, and biases were reduced in the newer version, except for CO measurements influenced by urban emissions.
ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Gaige Hunter Kerr, Daniel L. Goldberg, Maria H. Harris, Barron H. Henderson, Perry Hystad, Ananya Roy, Susan C. Anenberg
Summary: This study utilizes novel tools and datasets, including remotely sensed NO2 measurements and estimates from land-use regression and photochemical models, to assess NO2 exposure of different ethnic populations in the United States. The findings show that Black, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial populations have higher NO2 levels compared to the national average, while non-Hispanic White population has lower levels. Comparisons with in situ monitoring data validate the performance of these datasets in understanding spatial variations in NO2.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kirk R. Baker, Heather Simon, Barron Henderson, Colby Tucker, David Cooley, Emma Zinsmeister
Summary: This article introduces a reduced complexity tool called PCAPS, which can estimate annual average PM2.5 and seasonal average MDA8 O3 for any source location in the United States. By comparing with photochemical grid models, PCAPS is proven to accurately predict the impact of emission changes on air pollution and is consistent with routine surface measurements. PCAPS provides flexible source-receptor relationships, making it suitable for integration into larger frameworks to provide air quality estimates for downstream analytics.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)