Surface-observation-constrained high-frequency coal mine methane emissions in Shanxi, China, reveal more emissions than inventories, consistent with satellite inversion
<p>This work focuses on Changzhi, Shanxi, China, a city and surrounding rural region with one of the highest atmospheric concentrations of methane (CH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>4</sub></span>) worldwide (campaign-wide minimum, mean, standard deviation,...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/5837/2025/acp-25-5837-2025.pdf |
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| Summary: | <p>This work focuses on Changzhi, Shanxi, China, a city and surrounding rural region with one of the highest atmospheric concentrations of methane (CH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>4</sub></span>) worldwide (campaign-wide minimum, mean, standard deviation, and max observations: 2.0, 2.9, 1.3, and 16 ppm) due to a rapid increase in the mining, production, and use of coal over the past decade. An intensive 15 d surface observation campaign of CH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>4</sub></span> concentration is used to drive a new analytical, mass-conserving method to compute and attribute CH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>4</sub></span> emissions. Observations made in concentric circles at 1, 3, and 5 km around a high-production high gas coal mine yielded emissions of 0.73, 0.28, and 0.15 ppm min<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>, respectively. For attribution a two-box mass-conserving model was used to identify the known mine's emissions from 0.042–5.3 ppm min<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> and a previously unidentified mine's emission from 0.22–7.9 ppm min<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. These results demonstrate the importance of simultaneously quantifying both the spatial and temporal distribution of CH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>4</sub></span> emissions to better control regional-scale CH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>4</sub></span> emissions. Results of the attribution are used in tandem with observations of boundary layer height to quantify policy-relevant emissions from the two coal mines as 6860 <span class="inline-formula">±</span> 3520 and 1010 <span class="inline-formula">±</span> 347 kg h<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>, respectively. Both mines display a fat-tailed distribution, with respective 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile values of [1600, 3070, 10 500] and [755, 1090, 1420] kg h<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. These findings are demonstrated to be higher than CH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>4</sub></span> emissions from equivalent oil and gas operations in the USA, with one about double and the other similar to day-to-day emissions inverted over 5 years using TROPOMI over the same region.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |