The world's population growth is increasingly concentrated in urban
areas and this trend is expected to continue in the
future. Urbanization has a profound impact on carbon dynamics, leading
to increases in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and
decreases in biogenic fluxes from these areas. The latter are a key
component of a carbon monitoring system (CMS), while spatially and
temporally resolved estimates of anthropogenic fluxes are central to
meeting greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals. We intend to design
a measurement network and develop an accompanying atmospheric modeling
framework for downscaling the current NASA CMS flux products to the
regional and local scales pertinent to Monitoring, Reporting, and
Verification (MRV). Our proposed research will focus on the Boston-DC
megalopolis corridor, where about 17% of the U.S. population lives on
less than 2% of the nation's land area, making it a key source of US
anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Simultaneously, these urban areas are
interspersed with vegetation that imposes a strong biogenic signal on
the atmospheric CO2 mixing ratios.
The proposed research will proceed along three main lines: 1)
High-resolution transport modeling (WRF-STILT) customized and verified
for the region, 2) High-resolution CO2 flux model incorporating
anthropogenic emissions estimates and the CASA model (including its
0.5-deg resolution variant that provides the foundational biosphere
model for the current CMS Flux Product and nested higher resolution
runs to represent the scale sensitivity within heterogeneous urban
areas), and 3) Inverse CO2 flux estimates corresponding to in-situ and
remote CO2 observations in and around Boston, New York City, and
Washington DC. As part of the proposed work, we will quantify errors
in the WRF-STILT simulations of the planetary boundary layer (PBL),
relying for this purpose on remotely sensed PBL measurements by the
Sigma Space Corporation's Micro Pulse LiDAR (MPL). The PBL height is a
key parameter entering inverse flux estimates, as it determines the
mixing region and varies inversely to the trace gas concentrations. A
key result of the proposed research will be the quantification of
observing requirements for flux uncertainty reduction to levels needed
for MRV.
Our proposal addresses two stated goals of the NNH13ZDA001N-CMS
solicitation: 'studies using commercial off-the-shelf technologies to
produce and evaluate prototype MRV system approaches' and 'studies to
improve the characterization and quantification of errors and
uncertainties in existing and/or proposed NASA CMS products, including
errors and uncertainties in the algorithms, models, and associated
methodologies utilized in creating them.' The proposed work will
leverage and extend the current CMS projects led by Drs. Arlyn Andrews
and Steven Pawson, with which the lead proposing team at Atmospheric
and Environmental Research (AER) is intimately involved, and the CMS
pilot surface carbon fluxes modeling analysis.
Start Date: 09/2012End Date: 06/2014 (Sep 2012 - Aug 2013)
Description: This data set provides average hourly measured, modeled enhancements, and background methane (CH4) concentrations, atmospheric ethane (C2H6) measurements, prior CH4 flux fields by sector, and a spatial reconstruction of natural gas (NG) consumption in Boston, Massachusetts and the surrounding region. Atmospheric CH4 concentrations were measured continuously from September 2012 through August 2013 at four locations and atmospheric ethane was measured continuously for several months during 2012-2014 at one location. Spatial models of prior CH4 emissions and natural gas consumption are given for an ~18,000 km^2 area centered on Boston, MA.
Status: Archived
CMS Science Theme(s): Land-Atmosphere Flux; MRV
Keywords: Source, Flux, Evaluation, Uncertainties
Spatial Extent: an ~18,000 km^2 area centered on Boston, MA
Spatial Resolution: 1km; also: point measurements
Temporal Frequency: hourly
Input Data Products: Concentration measurements; prior CH4 flux fields by sector; natural gas (NG) consumption in Boston; NARR reanalysis
Algorithm/Models Used: WRF-STILT (see http://dx.doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1291 for others/details)
Evaluation: Internal QA/QC and consistency checks
Intercomparison Efforts/Gaps:
Uncertainty Estimates: Quality Assessment of measurements
Relevant Policies/Programs: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), Clean Air Act (CAA)
Potential Users: carbon cycle scientists
Stakeholders: Boston University (Point of Contact: Peter Fox-Penner, pfoxp@bu.edu); Environmental Defense Fund (Point of Contact: Steven Hamburg, Shamburg@edf.org; Joe Rudek, jrudek@edf.org); National Institute of Standards and Technology, Greenhouse Gas and Climate Science Measurement (Point of Contact: Dr. James Whetstone, james.whetstone@nist.gov, Anna Karion, anna.karion@nist.gov); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Earth System Research Laboratory Global Monitoring Divisio (Point of Contact: Dr. Arlyn Andrews, Arlyn.Andrews@noaa.gov); Science community (Point of Contact: Various contacts)
Archived Data Citation: McKain, K., A. Down, S.M. Raciti, J.W. Budney, L.R. Hutyra, C. Floerchinger, S.C. Herndon, T. Nehrkorn, M.S. Zahniser, R.B. Jackson, N. Phillips, and S.C. Wofsy. 2015. CMS: Atmospheric Methane Concentrations and Prior Emissions, Boston, MA, 2012-2014. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1291
Bounding Coordinates:
West Longitude:
-72.20000
East Longitude:
-70.00000
North Latitude:
43.20000
South Latitude:
41.50000
Product Title: DARTE Annual On-road CO2 Emissions on a 1-km Grid, Conterminous USA, V2, 1980-2017
Start Date: 01/1980End Date: 12/2017 (1980-2012)
Description: This data set provides a 38-year, 1-km resolution inventory of annual on-road CO2 emissions for the conterminous United States based on roadway-level vehicle traffic data and state-specific emissions factors for multiple vehicle types on urban and rural roads as compiled in the Database of Road Transportation Emissions (DARTE). CO2 emissions from the on-road transportation sector are provided annually for 1980-2017 as a continuous surface at a spatial resolution of 1 km.
Input Data Products: Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) dataset
Algorithm/Models Used:
Evaluation: Within the HPMS database, the annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) information was inspected by county and functional class to identify potential outliers or structural breaks in the dataset. A filtering algorithm flagged any observation in an individual county/functional class time series if the magnitude of the year-on-year difference between an observation and adjacent years was greater than two standard deviations from the mean year-on-year difference of that time series. Of the 761,759 observations in the dataset, roughly 10% were flagged and replaced by the filtering procedure.
Intercomparison Efforts/Gaps:
Uncertainty Estimates: Direct quantification of the uncertainty in US on-road emissions is made impossible by the absence of independent data sources against which to compare government estimates.
Relevant Policies/Programs: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), Clean Air Act (CAA)
Potential Users: State and local departments of transportation
Stakeholders: Science community (Point of Contact: Various contacts)
Archived Data Citation: Gately, C., L.R. Hutyra, and I.S. Wing. 2019. DARTE Annual On-road CO2 Emissions on a 1-km Grid, Conterminous USA, V2, 1980-2017. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1735
Bounding Coordinates:
West Longitude:
-137.26000
East Longitude:
-62.04000
North Latitude:
53.39000
South Latitude:
22.09000
Product Title: CMS: CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuels Combustion, ACES Inventory for Northeastern USA
Start Date: 01/2011End Date: 12/2014 (Data cover the years 2011 and 2013-2014)
Description: This dataset provides estimates of annual and hourly carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels (FF) for 13 states across the Northeastern United States. The Anthropogenic Carbon Emissions System (ACES) was used to estimate annual FFCO2 emissions for nine different emissions source sectors on a 1 x 1 km spatial grid, for the year 2011. Hourly estimates of FFCO2 for the years 2013 and 2014 were derived from the 2011 annual emissions by holding the total emissions constant, but accounting for seasonal and daily variations in meteorology, fuel consumption, and traffic patterns across these two years.
Input Data Products: Emissions of FFCO2 from the residential, commercial, industrial, non-road mobile, marine, and rail sectors were derived from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Emissions Inventory (NEI) for 2011 (EPA, 2014a). Emissions from point sources, which include electric power generation, industrial facilities, and aircraft take-off and landing operations, were estimated using a combination of data from the NEI and from the EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) (EPA, 2014b). On-road CO2 emissions were obtained from the Database of Road Transportation Emissions (DARTE) (Gately et al., 2015).
Algorithm/Models Used:
Evaluation:
Intercomparison Efforts/Gaps: A comparison of ACES with three of the most commonly used global FFCO2 inventories shows that even at broad regional scales the overall uncertainty in emissions estimates is as high as 20%
Uncertainty Estimates: While the ACES inventory itself has a relatively modest total uncertainty of ~8.6%, the overall disagreement between ACES and the major global inventories implies that this uncertainty may be somewhat larger. Two inventories constructed from the same data sources (i.e. ODIAC and FFDAS) report different regional emissions totals (Δ12%) for our domain, emphasizing how minor differences in included source sectors and the downscaling algorithms can produce significant differences at sub-national scales (Gately and Hutyra, 2017).
Uncertainty Categories: deterministic and model-data comparison
Archived Data Citation: Gately, C., and L.R. Hutyra. 2018. CMS: CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuels Combustion, ACES Inventory for Northeastern USA. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1501
Bounding Coordinates:
West Longitude:
-81.78000
East Longitude:
-65.93000
North Latitude:
49.19000
South Latitude:
34.51000
Product Title: CO2 Observations, Modeled Emissions, and NAM-HYSPLIT Footprints, Boston MA, 2013-2014
Start Date: 09/2013End Date: 12/2014 (Fall 2013 through 2014)
Description: This dataset reports continuous atmospheric measurements of CO2 from two receptor sites and three boundary sites in and around Boston, Massachusetts, USA, that were combined with high-resolution CO2 emissions estimates and the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model to estimate regional CO2 emissions from September 2013 to December 2014. The HYSPLIT model followed an ensemble of 1,000 particles released at the urban CO2 measurement sites backward in time based on wind fields and turbulence from the North American Mesoscale Forecast System (NAM) at 12-km resolution to the boundary CO2 measurement sites to derive footprint values and CO2 enhancements expected from the prior emissions based on the Anthropogenic Carbon Emissions System (ACES) inventory and the urban-Vegetation Photosynthesis Respiration Model (urbanVPRM). This dataset contains three sets of data products: (1) observed hourly mean CO2 observations for two urban receptor sites in Boston, MA (Boston University (BU) and Copley Square (COP)), (2) observed hourly mean CO2 and calculated vertical profiles (50 - 5000 m) for three boundary sites around Boston including Harvard Forest at Petersham, MA (HF), Canaan, NH (CA), and Martha's Vineyard, MA (MVY), and modeled mean boundary CO2 concentrations for particles released from BU and COP, and (3) particle trajectory files including footprint values and CO2 enhancements above boundary CO2 concentrations from the HYSPLIT model.
Spatial Extent: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and area congruent with the ACES emissions inventory, in the Northeastern USA
Spatial Resolution: point
Temporal Frequency: hourly
Input Data Products: in-situ and remote CO2 observations along the Boston to Washington DC corridor; Mini MPL measurements at 3 locations in the corridor; a priori anthropogenic and biospheric flux estimates and related data, including CASA, Vulcan, HPMS
Algorithm/Models Used: CASA-GFED biosphere model; Bayesian and geo-statistical inversion for posterior flux estimate
Evaluation: Internal QA/QC and consistency checks
Intercomparison Efforts/Gaps: Posterior flux estimates will be compared against available CMS flux products
Uncertainty Estimates: With regard to a priori information, we will rely primarily on model inter-comparisons conducted under diverse community initiatives. In quantifying transport uncertainties, we will begin by verification of atmospheric fields, particularly winds and PBL heights, against observations. We will comprehensively evaluate our WRF runs by computing performance statistics using the WRF-Model Evaluation Tools (WRF- MET; hereafter, MET) software package. We will first focus on a qualitative comparison of the diurnal PBL cycle in WRF with the Mini MPL measurements and then use the latter in a quantitative evaluation of the WRF PBL simulations. We will quality control observing periods, particularly those when the WRF PBL simulation diverges from the Mini MPL measurements. We will then compare inversions with or without this quality control step, to help quantify the impact of PBL height uncertainties on the fluxes. Uncertainties of posterior flux estimates will be based on posterior covariance estimates from inversion.
Uncertainty Categories: deterministic and model-data comparison
Relevant Policies/Programs: RGGI, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, FLPMA, CAA
Potential Users: USFS, Baltimore Washington Forest Stewardship Partnership, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, EPA (Regions 1, 2, & 3)
Stakeholders: Boston University (Point of Contact: Peter Fox-Penner, pfoxp@bu.edu); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Earth System Research Laboratory Global Monitoring Divisio (Point of Contact: Dr. Arlyn Andrews, Arlyn.Andrews@noaa.gov); Science community (Point of Contact: Various contacts); State of Massachusetts - Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Program (Point of Contact: Hong-Hanh Chu, hong-hanh.chu@state.ma.us)
Current Application Readiness Level: 3
Start Application Readiness Level: 1
Target Application Readiness Level: 3
Future Developments: - Continue communicating with other CMS flux teams.
Limitations: - Uncertainties in a priori estimates, transport model, observations, and a posteriori estimates; however all of these uncertainties are documented.
Archived Data Citation: Sargent, M., S.C. Wofsy, and T. Nehrkorn. 2018. CO2 Observations, Modeled Emissions, and NAM-HYSPLIT Footprints, Boston MA, 2013-2014. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1586
Bounding Coordinates:
West Longitude:
-72.18000
East Longitude:
-70.00000
North Latitude:
43.71000
South Latitude:
41.35000
Product Title: WRF-STILT Gridded Footprints for Boston, MA, USA, 2013-2014
Start Date: 07/2013End Date: 12/2014 (mid-2013 to present)
Description: This dataset provides Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) footprint data products for two receptors located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, for July 2013 - December 2014. The data are gridded footprints on a 1-km grid congruent with the ACES emissions inventory. Meteorological fields from version 3.5.1 of the Weather Research and Forecasting model are used to drive STILT. STILT applies a Lagrangian particle dispersion model backwards in time from a measurement location (the "receptor" location), to create the adjoint of the transport model in the form of a "footprint" field. The footprint, with units of mixing ratio, quantifies the influence of upwind surface fluxes on CO2 and CH4 concentrations measured at the receptor and is computed by counting the number of particles in a surface-influenced volume and the time spent in that volume.
Status: Archived
CMS Science Theme(s): Atmospheric Transport
Keywords:
Spatial Extent: Boston, urban Northeastern U.S.
Spatial Resolution: 1 km
Temporal Frequency: Hourly
Input Data Products: NARR, MURSST, prepBUFR and ACARS observations
Algorithm/Models Used: WRF-STILT
Evaluation: WRF-MET evaluation against available observations
Intercomparison Efforts/Gaps: Comparison against NAM-HYSPLIT
Uncertainty Estimates: Comparison against NAM-HYSPLIT and WRF-MET evaluation
Uncertainty Categories: deterministic and model-data comparison
Application Areas: MRV; GHG emissions inventory
Relevant Policies/Programs: RGGI, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, FLPMA, CAA
Potential Users:
Stakeholders: Science community (Point of Contact: Various contacts)
Archived Data Citation: Nehrkorn, T., M. Sargent, S.C. Wofsy, and M. Mountain. 2018. WRF-STILT Gridded Footprints for Boston, MA, USA, 2013-2014. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1572
Bounding Coordinates:
West Longitude:
-169.50000
East Longitude:
-50.50000
North Latitude:
69.50000
South Latitude:
10.50000
Product Title: WRF-STILT Particle Trajectories for Boston, MA, USA, 2013-2014
Start Date: 07/2013End Date: 12/2014
Description: This dataset provides Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) particle trajectory data and footprint products for two receptors located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, for July 2013 - December 2014. Meteorological fields from version 3.6.1 of the Weather Research and Forecasting model are used to drive STILT. STILT applies a Lagrangian particle dispersion model backwards in time from a measurement location (the "receptor" location), to create the adjoint of the transport model in the form of a "footprint" field. The footprint, with units of mixing ratio (ppm) per surface flux (umol m-2 s-1), quantifies the influence of upwind surface fluxes on CO2 and CH4 concentrations measured at the receptor and is computed by counting the number of particles in a surface-influenced volume and the time spent in that volume. Footprints are provided for the two receptors at two temporal and spatial scales: three days of surface influence over the whole North American coverage area at 1-degree resolution and 24 hours of surface influence within a smaller region close to the measurement locations ('near field') at 0.1-degree resolution.
Status: Archived
CMS Science Theme(s): Atmospheric Transport
Keywords:
Spatial Extent: Footprints were calculated for all of North America and for the 'near field' area surrounding Boston, Massachusetts
Spatial Resolution: 1-degree for foot1 data; 0.1-degree for footnearfield1 data
Temporal Frequency: hourly
Input Data Products:
Algorithm/Models Used:
Evaluation:
Intercomparison Efforts/Gaps:
Uncertainty Estimates:
Uncertainty Categories:
Application Areas:
Relevant Policies/Programs:
Potential Users:
Stakeholders: Science community (Point of Contact: Various contacts)
Archived Data Citation: Nehrkorn, T., M. Sargent, S.C. Wofsy, and M. Mountain. 2018. WRF-STILT Particle Trajectories for Boston, MA, USA, 2013-2014. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1596
Bounding Coordinates:
West Longitude:
-81.78000
East Longitude:
-65.93000
North Latitude:
49.19000
South Latitude:
34.51000
Publications:
Chen, J., Viatte, C., Hedelius, J. K., Jones, T., Franklin, J. E., Parker, H., Gottlieb, E. W., Wennberg, P. O., Dubey, M. K., Wofsy, S. C. 2016. Differential column measurements using compact solar-tracking spectrometers. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 16(13), 8479-8498. DOI: 10.5194/acp-16-8479-2016
Decina, S. M., Hutyra, L. R., Gately, C. K., Getson, J. M., Reinmann, A. B., Short Gianotti, A. G., Templer, P. H. 2016. Soil respiration contributes substantially to urban carbon fluxes in the greater Boston area. Environmental Pollution. 212, 433-439. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.012
Hardiman, B. S., Wang, J. A., Hutyra, L. R., Gately, C. K., Getson, J. M., Friedl, M. A. 2017. Accounting for urban biogenic fluxes in regional carbon budgets. Science of The Total Environment. 592, 366-372. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.028
McKain, K., Down, A., Raciti, S. M., Budney, J., Hutyra, L. R., Floerchinger, C., Herndon, S. C., Nehrkorn, T., Zahniser, M. S., Jackson, R. B., Phillips, N., Wofsy, S. C. 2015. Methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure and use in the urban region of Boston, Massachusetts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112(7), 1941-1946. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1416261112
Gately, C. K., Hutyra, L. R., Sue Wing, I. 2015. Cities, traffic, and CO
2
: A multidecadal assessment of trends, drivers, and scaling relationships. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112(16), 4999-5004. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1421723112
Archived Data Citations:
Sargent, M., S.C. Wofsy, and T. Nehrkorn. 2018. CO2 Observations, Modeled Emissions, and NAM-HYSPLIT Footprints, Boston MA, 2013-2014. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1586
Gately, C., and L.R. Hutyra. 2018. CMS: CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuels Combustion, ACES Inventory for Northeastern USA. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1501
McKain, K., A. Down, S.M. Raciti, J.W. Budney, L.R. Hutyra, C. Floerchinger, S.C. Herndon, T. Nehrkorn, M.S. Zahniser, R.B. Jackson, N. Phillips, and S.C. Wofsy. 2015. CMS: Atmospheric Methane Concentrations and Prior Emissions, Boston, MA, 2012-2014. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1291
Gately, C., L.R. Hutyra, and I.S. Wing. 2019. DARTE Annual On-road CO2 Emissions on a 1-km Grid, Conterminous USA, V2, 1980-2017. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1735
Nehrkorn, T., M. Sargent, S.C. Wofsy, and M. Mountain. 2018. WRF-STILT Particle Trajectories for Boston, MA, USA, 2013-2014. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1596
Nehrkorn, T., M. Sargent, S.C. Wofsy, and M. Mountain. 2018. WRF-STILT Gridded Footprints for Boston, MA, USA, 2013-2014. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1572
2015 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Poster(s)
Quantification of Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Losses in the Urban Region of Boston, Massachusetts with an Atmospheric Measurement Network and Modeling Framework
-- (Kathryn McKain, Adrian Down, Steve M. Raciti, John Budney, Lucy R. Hutyra, Cody Floerchinger, Scott C. Herndon, Thomas Nehrkorn, Mark S. Zahniser, Robert Jackson, Nathan Phillips, Steven Wofsy)
[abstract]
A New High-Resolution On-Road CO2 Emissions Inventory for the United States, 1980 - 2012
-- (Conor Gately, Lucy Hutyra, Ian Sue Wing)
[abstract]
A New High-Resolution On-Road CO2 Emissions Inventory for the United States, 1980-2012 -- (Conor Gately, Lucy Hutyra, Ian Sue Wing) [abstract]
Quantification of Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Losses in the Urban Region of Boston, Massachusetts with an Atmospheric Measurement Network and Modeling Framework -- (Kathryn McKain, Adrian Down, Steven M Raciti, John Budney, Lucy R Hutyra, Cody Floerchinger, Scott Herndon, Thomas Nehrkorn, Mark Zahniser, Robert B Jackson, Nathan Phillips, Steven C Wofsy) [abstract]
High-resolution mapping of biomass to improve monitoring, reporting, and verification of urban biogenic CO2 fluxes -- (Brady S Hardiman, Lucy R Hutyra, Jacqueline M Getson, Steve M Raciti) [abstract]