Monthly Trends of Methane Emissions in Los Angeles From 2011 to 2015 Inferred by CLARS-FTS Observations
This paper presents an analysis of methane emissions from the Los Angeles Basin at monthly timescales across a 4-year time period – from September 2011 to August 2015. Using observations acquired by a ground-based near-infrared remote sensing instrument on Mount Wilson, California, combined with atmospheric CH4–CO2 tracer–tracer correlations, we observed −18 to +22 % monthly variability in CH4 : CO2 from the annual mean in the Los Angeles Basin. Top-down estimates of methane emissions for the basin also exhibit significant monthly variability (−19 to +31 % from annual mean and a maximum month-to-month change of 47 %). During this period, methane emissions consistently peaked in the late summer/early fall and winter. The estimated annual methane emissions did not show a statistically significant trend over the 2011 to 2015 time period.
- Author (aut): Wong, Clare K.
- Author (aut): Pongetti, Thomas J.
- Author (aut): Oda, Tom
- Author (aut): Rao, Preeti
- Author (aut): Gurney, Kevin
- Author (aut): Newman, Sally
- Author (aut): Duren, Riley M.
- Author (aut): Miller, Charles E.
- Author (aut): Yung, Yuk L.
- Author (aut): Sander, Stanley P.
- Contributor (ctb): College of Liberal Arts and Sciences