Assessing fossil fuel CO2 emissions in California using atmospheric observations and models

H. Graven; M. L. Fischer; T. Lueker; S. Jeong; T. P. Guilderson; R. F. Keeling; R. Bambha; K. Brophy; W. Callahan; X. Cui; C. Frankenberg; K. R. Gurney; B. W. Lafranchi; S. J. Lehman; H. Michelsen; J. B. Miller; S. Newman; W. Paplawsky; N. C. Parazoo; C. Sloop; S. J. Walker

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aabd43

Assessing fossil fuel CO₂ emissions in California using atmospheric observations and models

H. Graven, M. L. Fischer, T. Lueker, S. Jeong, T. P. Guilderson, R. F. Keeling, R. Bambha, K. Brophy, W. Callahan, X. Cui, C. Frankenberg, K. R. Gurney, B. W. Lafranchi, S. J. Lehman, H. Michelsen, J. B. Miller, S. Newman, W. Paplawsky, N. C. Parazoo, C. SloopS. J. Walker

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

Analysis systems incorporating atmospheric observations could provide a powerful tool for validating fossil fuel CO₂ (ffCO₂) emissions reported for individual regions, provided that fossil fuel sources can be separated from other CO₂ sources or sinks and atmospheric transport can be accurately accounted for. We quantified ffCO₂ by measuring radiocarbon (¹⁴C) in CO₂, an accurate fossil-carbon tracer, at nine observation sites in California for three months in 2014-15. There is strong agreement between the measurements and ffCO₂ simulated using a high-resolution atmospheric model and a spatiotemporally-resolved fossil fuel flux estimate. Inverse estimates of total in-state ffCO₂ emissions are consistent with the California Air Resources Board's reported ffCO₂ emissions, providing tentative validation of California's reported ffCO₂ emissions in 2014-15. Continuing this prototype analysis system could provide critical independent evaluation of reported ffCO₂ emissions and emissions reductions in California, and the system could be expanded to other, more data-poor regions.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	065007
Journal	Environmental Research Letters
Volume	13
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aabd43
State	Published - Jun 2018
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

California
atmospheric inversion
carbon dioxide
fossil fuel emissions
radiocarbon

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
General Environmental Science
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Access to Document

10.1088/1748-9326/aabd43

Cite this

Graven, H., Fischer, M. L., Lueker, T., Jeong, S., Guilderson, T. P., Keeling, R. F., Bambha, R., Brophy, K., Callahan, W., Cui, X., Frankenberg, C., Gurney, K. R., Lafranchi, B. W., Lehman, S. J., Michelsen, H., Miller, J. B., Newman, S., Paplawsky, W., Parazoo, N. C., ... Walker, S. J. (2018). Assessing fossil fuel CO₂ emissions in California using atmospheric observations and models. Environmental Research Letters, 13(6), Article 065007. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aabd43

Graven, H, Fischer, ML, Lueker, T, Jeong, S, Guilderson, TP, Keeling, RF, Bambha, R, Brophy, K, Callahan, W, Cui, X, Frankenberg, C, Gurney, KR, Lafranchi, BW, Lehman, SJ, Michelsen, H, Miller, JB, Newman, S, Paplawsky, W, Parazoo, NC, Sloop, C & Walker, SJ 2018, 'Assessing fossil fuel CO₂ emissions in California using atmospheric observations and models', Environmental Research Letters, vol. 13, no. 6, 065007. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aabd43

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abstract = "Analysis systems incorporating atmospheric observations could provide a powerful tool for validating fossil fuel CO2 (ffCO2) emissions reported for individual regions, provided that fossil fuel sources can be separated from other CO2 sources or sinks and atmospheric transport can be accurately accounted for. We quantified ffCO2 by measuring radiocarbon (14C) in CO2, an accurate fossil-carbon tracer, at nine observation sites in California for three months in 2014-15. There is strong agreement between the measurements and ffCO2 simulated using a high-resolution atmospheric model and a spatiotemporally-resolved fossil fuel flux estimate. Inverse estimates of total in-state ffCO2 emissions are consistent with the California Air Resources Board's reported ffCO2 emissions, providing tentative validation of California's reported ffCO2 emissions in 2014-15. Continuing this prototype analysis system could provide critical independent evaluation of reported ffCO2 emissions and emissions reductions in California, and the system could be expanded to other, more data-poor regions.",

keywords = "California, atmospheric inversion, carbon dioxide, fossil fuel emissions, radiocarbon",

author = "H. Graven and Fischer, {M. L.} and T. Lueker and S. Jeong and Guilderson, {T. P.} and Keeling, {R. F.} and R. Bambha and K. Brophy and W. Callahan and X. Cui and C. Frankenberg and Gurney, {K. R.} and Lafranchi, {B. W.} and Lehman, {S. J.} and H. Michelsen and Miller, {J. B.} and S. Newman and W. Paplawsky and Parazoo, {N. C.} and C. Sloop and Walker, {S. J.}",

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AU - Graven, H.

AU - Fischer, M. L.

AU - Lueker, T.

AU - Jeong, S.

AU - Guilderson, T. P.

AU - Keeling, R. F.

AU - Bambha, R.

AU - Brophy, K.

AU - Callahan, W.

AU - Cui, X.

AU - Frankenberg, C.

AU - Gurney, K. R.

AU - Lafranchi, B. W.

AU - Lehman, S. J.

AU - Michelsen, H.

AU - Miller, J. B.

AU - Newman, S.

AU - Paplawsky, W.

AU - Parazoo, N. C.

AU - Sloop, C.

AU - Walker, S. J.

PY - 2018/6

Y1 - 2018/6

N2 - Analysis systems incorporating atmospheric observations could provide a powerful tool for validating fossil fuel CO2 (ffCO2) emissions reported for individual regions, provided that fossil fuel sources can be separated from other CO2 sources or sinks and atmospheric transport can be accurately accounted for. We quantified ffCO2 by measuring radiocarbon (14C) in CO2, an accurate fossil-carbon tracer, at nine observation sites in California for three months in 2014-15. There is strong agreement between the measurements and ffCO2 simulated using a high-resolution atmospheric model and a spatiotemporally-resolved fossil fuel flux estimate. Inverse estimates of total in-state ffCO2 emissions are consistent with the California Air Resources Board's reported ffCO2 emissions, providing tentative validation of California's reported ffCO2 emissions in 2014-15. Continuing this prototype analysis system could provide critical independent evaluation of reported ffCO2 emissions and emissions reductions in California, and the system could be expanded to other, more data-poor regions.

AB - Analysis systems incorporating atmospheric observations could provide a powerful tool for validating fossil fuel CO2 (ffCO2) emissions reported for individual regions, provided that fossil fuel sources can be separated from other CO2 sources or sinks and atmospheric transport can be accurately accounted for. We quantified ffCO2 by measuring radiocarbon (14C) in CO2, an accurate fossil-carbon tracer, at nine observation sites in California for three months in 2014-15. There is strong agreement between the measurements and ffCO2 simulated using a high-resolution atmospheric model and a spatiotemporally-resolved fossil fuel flux estimate. Inverse estimates of total in-state ffCO2 emissions are consistent with the California Air Resources Board's reported ffCO2 emissions, providing tentative validation of California's reported ffCO2 emissions in 2014-15. Continuing this prototype analysis system could provide critical independent evaluation of reported ffCO2 emissions and emissions reductions in California, and the system could be expanded to other, more data-poor regions.

KW - California

KW - atmospheric inversion

KW - carbon dioxide

KW - fossil fuel emissions

KW - radiocarbon

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