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Improving Characterization of Anthropogenic Methane Emissions in the United States (2018) / Chapter Skim
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5 Presenting Methane Emission Data and Results
Pages 171-178

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From page 171...
... Such needs include submission of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or understanding the difference between bottom-up and top-down emission estimates for a specific region in the United States.
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From page 172...
... emissions from cropped and grazed soils under current management practices using standardized protocols that all sites would follow, as well as to identify and further develop improved management practices that would enhance carbon sequestration in soils, decrease GHG emissions, promote sustainability, and provide a sound scientific basis for carbon credits and GHG trading programs. Data collected by participating researchers are regularly uploaded into a main template that is then made publicly available, allowing further use of the data for activities such as model development and validation and providing greater value than the data collected by individual 172
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From page 173...
... Similar to the networks noted above, one goal of this study was to make the latest methane information publicly available to a larger community. For landfill methane emissions, a current California study supported by the California Air Resources Board and the California Department of Resources ­ ecovery and Recycling is system R atically addressing statewide approaches for improved quantification of site-specific and regional emissions.
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From page 174...
... Clearly articulating the geographic/spatial and temporal bound aries of the study helps users know the relevance of any resulting methane emission estimate, activity data, or emission factor for their own work or use. For example, a landfill study limited to the warm, dry summer months, a flyover of a natural gas production field during liquid unloading activities, or an estimate of methane emissions from a liquid manure storage operation during summer or winter may not be representative of national conditions over the course of the year for use in the GHGI.
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From page 175...
... basis, it is important to document the global warming potential value that was applied to methane. In addition to an absolute magnitude of emissions, other intensity metrics such as leakage rate, flux rates, emissions per unit of product, and emissions based on lifecycle analysis have also been used to compare methane emissions across ­ tudies.
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From page 176...
... is useful for comparing results across studies. MAKING INPUT DATA PUBLICLY AVAILABLE There is often a wealth of underlying activity data and emission factor, parameter, and model information used to generate emission estimates, whether for the GHGI, the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP)
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From page 177...
... Although there are release numbers associated with the EPA's online data publication site,5 there is no archive to allow retrieval of previously available datasets that may have been used in published studies, and it is therefore difficult to assess studies based on these estimates. Future studies and emission estimate comparisons would benefit from increased data transparency by making underlying data used in reports publicly available in machine-readable formats, subject to confidentiality concerns, and improved documentation and archiving of Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program data.
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From page 178...
... Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and comprised of experts from academia, industry, policymaking, other federal agencies, and non­ governmental organizations. Its goal would be to facilitate timely improvements in activity data and enhance characterization of emission sources and quantities.
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Key Terms

  • methane emissions
  • natural gas
  • publicly available
  • emission data
  • greenhouse gas

  • methane produced
  • emission sources
  • emission factor
  • emission estimates
  • methane information

  • emission information
  • activity data
  • larger community
  • unit time
  • study design

  • emission estimate
  • national methane
  • landfill methane
  • gas inventory
  • careful consideration

  • gas reporting
  • research networks
  • gridded inventories
  • agriculture sector
  • help standardize

  • project design
  • standardize project
  • reporting program
  • reports methane
  • total methane


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