EGU2020-16797
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-16797
EGU General Assembly 2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Methane emission detection and flux quantification from exploratory hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom, using unmanned aerial vehicle sampling

Adil Shah1, Hugo Ricketts1,2, Joseph Pitt1, Jacob Shaw1, Khristopher Kabbabe3, Brian Leen4, and Grant Allen1
Adil Shah et al.
  • 1Centre for Atmospheric Science, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (adil.shah@manchester.ac.uk)
  • 2National Centre for Atmospheric Science, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  • 3School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  • 4ABB – Los Gatos Research, San Jose, United States of America

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sampling was used to derive high-precision methane mole fraction measurements downwind of the United Kingdom’s first onshore exploratory operation to horizontally hydraulically fracture shale rock. Sampling took place using two UAVs on five intermittent sampling days between October 2018 and February 2019. One UAV carried an on-board prototype sensor while the other was connected to a sensor on the ground, using a tethered air inlet. Both instruments used near infrared spectroscopy. Methane emissions were observed on one sampling day (14th January 2019) over a 1.4-hour sampling window, due to cold venting of methane following a nitrogen lift. The nitrogen lift procedure was used to induce gas flow during liquid unloading. The near-field Gaussian plume inversion flux quantification method was used to derive four instantaneous flux ranges (within uncertainty) from the four UAV flight surveys conducted during the emission window.

How to cite: Shah, A., Ricketts, H., Pitt, J., Shaw, J., Kabbabe, K., Leen, B., and Allen, G.: Methane emission detection and flux quantification from exploratory hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom, using unmanned aerial vehicle sampling, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-16797, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-16797, 2020

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