Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Wintertime ozone and nitrogen oxide photochemistry and nighttime chemistry in a Western oil and gas basin

Presenter: Peter Edwards (Peter.M.Edwards@noaa.gov)
Abstract: Oil and gas development in mountain basins on of the Western United States has led to frequent exceedenes of National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone during the winter season. The Unitah Basin Winter Ozone Study took place during February and March 2012 in northeast Utah with the goal of providing detailed chemical and meteorological data to understand this phenomenon. Although cold pool stagnation conditions that lead to winter ozone buildup were not encountered during the study period, the detailed measurements did provide a unique data set to understand the chemistry of key air pollutants in a desert environment during winter. This presentation will examine both the photochemistry and the nighttime chemistry of nitrogen oxides, ozone and VOCs, with the goal of understanding the observed photochemistry and its relationship to nighttime chemistry through a set of box models. The photochemical box model is based on the master chemical mechanism (MCM), a detailed model for VOC degradation and ozone production. The presentation will examine the sensitivity of ozone photochemistry to different parameters, including pollutant concentrations likely to be characteristic of cold pool conditions, and the strength of radical sources derived from heterogeneous chemical reactions. The goal of the analysis will be to identify the factors most likely to be responsible for the higher ozone events that have been observed during colder years with less detailed chemical measurements.

Source signature of volatile organic compounds from oil and natural gas operations in northeastern Colorado

Presenter: Brian Lerner (brian.lerner@noaa.gov)
Abstract: An extensive set of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was measured in Erie, Colorado in winter 2011 in order to investigate the relative influence of VOC emissions from oil and natural gas (O&NG) operations and urban activities in northeastern Colorado. Erie is located north of the Denver metropolitan area and is in the southwestern section of Wattenberg Field, one of Colorado's most productive O&NG fields. We compare VOC concentrations in Erie to those in other U.S. cities, summertime measurements in Boulder and Fort Collins, Colorado as well as the composition of raw natural gas from Wattenberg Field. These comparisons show that 1) the VOC source signature associated with O&NG operations is distinctive and can be clearly differentiated from urban sources that are dominated by vehicular exhaust and 2) VOCs emitted from O&NG operations are evident at all three measurement sites in northeastern Colorado. During the Erie study, the reactivity of VOCs with the hydroxyl radical (OH) was dominated by C2-C6 alkanes due to their remarkably large abundances. Through statistical regression analysis, we estimate that 58% of the VOC-OH reactivity is attributable to emissions from O&NG operations indicating that these emissions could be a significant source of ozone-precursors.

Laboratory studies on Secondary organic aerosol formation from crude oil vapors

Presenter: Rui Li (Rui.Li@noaa.gov)
Abstract: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere significantly affect the environment and human health directly or through the formation of ozone and aerosols in polluted conditions. Measurements near the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 showed that some VOCs evaporated from crude oil, particularly those with higher molecular weights, efficiently form organic aerosol in the atmosphere. To better understand these processes, we have simulated aerosol formation from oil vapors in a reaction chamber using two mass spectrometers to quantify VOCs and aerosol simultaneously. The experiments show that aerosol is formed very efficiently from >C14 hydrocarbons; and much less efficiently from C14 hydrocarbons to organic aerosol formation quantitatively and as a function of light intensity in the reaction chamber.

Exceptionally Elevated Wintertime Photochemical Ozone Production Associated With Natural Gas Production Fields

Presenter: Russell Schnell (russell.c.schnell@noaa.gov)
Abstract: Rapid, cold temperature photochemical ozone production occurs in rural Wyoming and Utah in regions of natural gas production. Sunrise surface ozone concentrations of 10-30 ppb increase to 140-150 ppb soon after solar noon in these events. This photochemical production occurs at temperatures as low as -17°C during in December-March.In the winter of 2009-2010, elevated ozone began over ~15,000 km2 of the sparsely populated Uintah Basin when snow pack was established in mid-December and remained until the day the snow melted in mid-March. During this elevated ozone period, there were 521 hours with hourly ozone concentrations above 75 ppb. In the winter of 2011-2012, there was essentially no photochemical ozone production in the Uintah Basin even though oil and gas production was greater than in the winter of 2009-2010; the winter of 2011-2012 was devoid of snow cover. The snow cover aids in the formation of strong temperature inversions that trap ozone precursors such as NOx and volatile organic carbons in a shallow layer near the surface. The snow also reflects solar radiation allowing for a doubling of the energy available for the photochemical production of ozone. It is speculated that the snow may also be acting as a nocturnal reservoir of nitrous acid that is released at sunrise initiating rapid ozone formation. This wintertime ozone formation is putting the respective gas fields into regulatory ozone health exceedences. This in turn is requiring large investments (billion U$) in ozone precursor reduction efforts.

NOAA Mobile Laboratory Measures Oil and Gas Emissions

Presenter: Jonathan Kofler (jonathan.kofler@noaa.gov)
Abstract: A van capable of continuous real time measurements of CH4 , CO2, CO, Water Vapor, Ozone, NO, NO2, Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs including aromatics and other traces gases was driven in the oil and gas fields of the Uintah Basin in northeastern Utah. Partnerships with external collaborators have enabled the NOAA /ESRL/GMD Tower northeaster Utah. Stations, processing plants, oil and gas well heads. Separators, condensate tanks, evaporation pond disposal facilities, holding tanks, hydraulic fracturing sites, gas pipelines and more were studied using the van. The mobile measurements provide a powerful tool to get to the source of the emissions and reveal the unique chemical signature of each of the stages and components of oil and gas production as well as the overall basin and background gas concentrations. In addition to a suite of gas analyzers, the van includes a meteorological system, GPS tracking, flask sampling system and a batter power system. Aspects of the vans hardware, sampling methods and operations are discussed along with a few highlights of the measurements.

Tropospheric aircraft ozone measurement program

Presenter: Irina Petropavlovskikh (irina.petro@noaa.gov)
Abstract: Since 2004, the Ozone and Water Vapor group at NOAA/ESRL/GMD has conducted in situ measurements of atmospheric ozone mixing ratios from the surface up to altitudes in the stratosphere with small, lightweight portable ozone monitors. The ozone instruments, based on components from the 2B Technologies ozone analyzer, currently fly at locations around the world during routine vertical profiling and for special projects and campaigns. Due to our collaboration with other agencies and internal groups, the ozone profile data is generally available alongside other constituent data.

BioCORN 2011: Trace gas exchange over energy crop ecosystems

Presenter: Martin Graus (martin.graus@noaa.gov)
Abstract Significant amounts of ethanol are produced from biofuel crops such as corn and, in the future, non-starch biofuel crops. The atmospheric effects of growing these plant species on a large scale are investigated here by measuring the plant-atmosphere exchange of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). To this end an eddy covariance system was set up in a corn field at ARDEC (CSU, Ft Collins, CO) to investigate the energy flux and the trace gas exchange of the US' dominant biofuel crop. Besides energy flux, evapotranspiration and CO2 flux a comprehensive suite of volatile organic compounds and inorganic species (O3, NO, NO2, CO) were measured for virtual disjunct eddy covariance (vDEC) analysis and true eddy covariance (EC) fluxes, respectively. VOCs were monitored by PTR-MS and, for the first time, fluxes of formic acid were measured utilizing NI-CIMS data for vDEC analysis. Besides the EC approach leaf level flux measurements and soil flux measurements were performed using a GC-MS system coupled to a modified Li6400 system and to soil chambers, respectively. Ethanol and methanol are amongst the compounds with the largest emissions from corn leaves. DMS is amongst the species found to be emitted by the soil and to a significantly larger extent from the corn leaves with a strong diurnal pattern indicating stomatal control over the DMS flux. This comprehensive dataset of trace gas fluxes over one of the most abundant plant species in the USA will help us better understand the potential influence of agricultural crops on regional air chemistry.
http://esrl.noaa.gov/csd/tropchem/biocorn2011/

Emissions of biogenic aerosol and ozone precursors by biofuel crops

Presenter: Carsten Warneke(carsten.warneke@noaa.gov)
Abstract: Emissions of biogenic aerosol and ozone precursors by biofuel crops

Global methane emissions from palm oil wastewater: converting a climate impact to bioenergy

Presenter: Philip Taylor (Philip.Taylor@Colorado.EDU)
Abstract: The commercial production of palm oil is rapidly rising due to growing global demand for food and fuel. The industry offers promise for economic growth in emerging markets and poverty alleviation, yet faces a number of sustainability challenges. Most of the controversy to date has focused on the carbon and climate biodiversity impacts of forest replacement with oil palm plantations. Palm oil has been touted as a promising biofuel, yet the destruction of carbon rich rainforests prior to planting creates a significant carbon debt that could take 400+ years to offset. These concerns raised by international consumers is putting pressure on palm oil companies to green their supply chains. Here I focus on a less-appreciated source of renewable energy associated with the industry: biomethane emissions from wastewater that is generated during the milling and oil extraction process.

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is extremely rich in lipids and proteins. Because of its high polluting power, POME is treated under environmental regulation by facultative anaerobic digestion before discharge to local waterways. The production of biomethane from a typical wastewater lagoon is between 2 and 5 tons of CH4 per year, which could produce 1-3 MW of electricity. Altogether, I estimate that CH4 emissions from POME wastewater treatment systems were 4 ± 0.8 Tg in 2012, on par with current CH4 fluxes from Artic methane hydrates. The embodied energy in this diffuse energy source could power a small country. Here I show my calculations and discuss the barriers to renewable POME energy.

Sectoral Vulnerabilities to Changing Water Resources: Current and Future Tradeoffs between Supply and Demand in the Conterminous U.S.

Presenter: James Meldrum (james.meldrum@colorado.edu)
Abstract: Thermoelectric cooling, agriculture, and municipal water uses all compete for water supplies, but each sector has different implications for water supply stress and faces different vulnerabilities to changing water supplies. We present spatially-explicit measures of water supply stress for the conterminous United States, defining water stress as the ratio of water supplies to water demands in a given basin at the 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code level. We compare a snapshot of contemporary annual demands against different water supply regimes, including current average supplies, current extreme-year supplies, and projected future average supplies under climate change. In addition, we investigate sectoral contributions to current water stress and the relationship of withdrawal-related water stress to consumption-related water stress.

We find that:

• projected changes in average surface flows due to climate change would lead to average levels of water stress similar to that experienced in recent worst-case years, in terms of low water supplies, in many watersheds;
• the scales of influence of different water use sectors vary: agriculture and municipal demands, influenced by large-scale policy decisions, make up a large portion of total demands for much of the country, whereas thermoelectric power water demands are localized and therefore can be influenced by small-scale policies and decisions; and
• projected changes in surface flows due to climate change would exacerbate the current water stress in many areas of the country, even holding all other factors (e.g. water use, population levels, and groundwater withdrawals) constant.

Canada's Oil Sands and The New Environmental Monitoring Program

Presenter: Shao-Meng Li (shao-meng.li@ec.gc.ca)
Abstract: The oil sands in Alberta, Canada represent a large deposit of fossil fuel, second only to that in Saudi Arabia. Their development has been on the upswing with the increasing global demands for oil and has led to much public attention on the potential environmental impacts. The Federal Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta have jointly designed a new environmental monitoring plan that covers air, water, and biodiversity, focusing on the ecosystem cumulative impacts of the oil sands pollutants. The plan is at the early phase of being implemented. The air monitoring component of the plan will start with an initial focus in 2013 on providing new and improved emissions of criteria air contaminants from the oil sands mining activities, including a better assessment of emission inventories, new pollutant identification, and atmospheric transport/transformation.

Fluid Injection Induced Seismicity: Evidence from two case studies

Presenter: Matthew Weingarten (matthew.weingarten@colorado.edu)
Abstract: This study analyzed the link between the injection of fluid wastes and earthquakes at two sites in Ohio. On August 7th, 2000, a M3.0 earthquake occurred near Deerfield, Ohio, a previously seismically inactive, intraplate site. Earthquakes of M3.0 and M3.1 occurred on August 31st, 2011, near Newport, Ohio, in a similarly seismically inactive zone. Four criteria were used to determine if seismicity was induced by injection activity: (1) low background seismicity prior to the start of injection, (2) a strong spatial correlation between earthquake epicenter and injection well, (3) a strong temporal correlation between the start of injection and timing of the earthquake sequences, and (4) high pore pressure in the vicinity of the hypocenters at the time of the earthquake. Both the Newport and Deerfield sites exhibited little background seismicity prior to the start of injection. The large volumes of fluid wastes were injected into zones co-located in space (0.25 km and 3.78 km, respectively) and depth with the earthquake hypocenters. The Newport site exhibited a strong temporal correlation as the earthquake sequence began to occur 2 years after the injection started. The Deerfield site did not exhibit a strong temporal correlation as earthquakes occurred more than two decades after the injection . Pore pressure increases due to injection were calculated using the injection data and assumed hydraulic properties of the rock form ations. Pressure increases of 1.9 MPa at the Newport site and 0.6 MPa at the Deerfield site were calculated at the earthquake hypocenters at the time of the earthquake. These values have been shown to be sufficient to induce seismicity assuming there are preexisting weaknesses.