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We developed and tested a complete measurement system to quantify CO2 and CH4 emissions at the scale of an industrial site based on the innovative sensor Airborne Ultra-light Spectrometer for Environmental Application (AUSEA), operated on board uncrewed aircraft vehicles (UAVs). The AUSEA sensor is a new light-weight (1.4 kg) open-path laser absorption spectrometer simultaneously recording in situ CO2 and CH4 concentrations at high frequency (24 Hz in this study) with precisions of 10 ppb for CH4 and 1 ppm for CO2 (when averaged at 1 Hz). It is suitable for industrial operation at a short distance from the sources (sensitivity up to 1000 ppm for CO2 and 200 ppm for CH4). Greenhouse gas concentrations monitored by this sensor throughout a plume cross section downwind of a source drive a simple mass balance model to quantify emissions from this source. This study presents applications of this method to different pragmatic cases representative of real-world conditions for oil and gas facilities. Two offshore oil and gas platforms were monitored for which our emissions estimates were coherent with mass balance and combustion calculations from the platforms. Our method has also been compared to various measurement systems (gas lidar, multispectral camera, infrared camera including concentrations and emissions quantification system, acoustic sensors, ground mobile and fixed cavity ring-down spectrometers) during controlled-release experiments conducted on the TotalEnergies Anomaly Detection Initiatives (TADI) test platform at Lacq, France. It proved suitable to detect leaks with emission fluxes down to 0.01 gs-1 , with 24 % of estimated CH4 fluxes within the - 20 % to + 20 % error range, 80 % of quantifications within the - 50 % to + 100 % error range and all of our results within the - 69 % to + 150 % error range. Such precision levels are better ranked than current top-down alternative techniques to quantify CH4 at comparable spatial scales. This method has the potential to be operationally deployed on numerous sites and on a regular basis to evaluate the space- and time-dependent greenhouse gas emissions of oil and gas facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed an innovative tool to quantify CO2 and CH4 emissions at the scale of an industrial site, based on a mass balance approach relying on a newly developed light-weight (1.4 kg) open path laser absorption spectrometer operable on-board Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs). This spectrometer simultaneously records in situ CO2 and CH4 concentrations at high frequency (24 Hz in this study) with precisions of 10 ppb for CH4 and 1 ppm for CO2 averaged at 1 Hz. The large range of measurable concentrations, up to 1000 ppm for CO2 and 200 ppm for CH4, makes this analyzer suitable for operation on industrial sites at a short distance from the emission sources, therefore avoiding many logistical and legal limits associated with most long-range airborne observations. To quantify the emissions, high spatial resolution atmospheric concentration measurements obtained throughout a plume cross-section downwind of a source within the limited UAV flight period are exploited by calculations using a mass balance approach. This high spatial resolution, allowed by the high acquisition frequency, limits the use of horizontal interpolation, thus gaining in precision compared to current airborne alternative quantification techniques. A field validation campaign, conducted on the TotalEnergies TADI test platform at Lacq, France, consisted in controlled CO2 and CH4 leak experiments to which several institutes participated with various measurement systems (gas LiDAR, multispectral camera, infrared camera including concentrations and emissions quantification system, acoustic sensors, ground mobile and fixed Cavity RingDown Spectrometers). Our method was proved suitable to detect leaks during controlled release experiments with emission fluxes down to 0.01 g s-1, with 24 % of estimated CH4 fluxes within the -20 % to +20 % error range, 80 % of quantifications within the 50 % to +100 % error range and all of our results within the -69 % to +150 % error range. Such precision levels are better ranked than current top-down alternative techniques to quantify CH4 at comparable spatial scales. Observations across the plume of two offshore oil and gas platforms operated by TotalEnergies in the North Sea were used to quantify the instantaneous greenhouse gases emissions of these facilities and are coherent with reference emissions for these platforms estimated by mass balance and combustion calculations for CO2. The operational deployment of such instruments and quantification methods, on a large scale and on a regular basis, potentially with fully autonomous UAVs, will allow the quantification of the time dependent greenhouse gases emissions of numerous oil and gas facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep convection overshooting the lowermost stratosphere is well known for its role in the local stratospheric water vapour (WV) budget. While it is seldom the case, local enhancements of WV associated with stratospheric overshoots are often published. Nevertheless, one debatable topic prevails on the global impact of this event with respect to the temperature-driven dehydration of air parcels entering the stratosphere. As a first step, it is crucial to quantify their role at a local scale before assessing their impact at a large-scale in a meteorological model. It would lead to a forcing scheme for overshoots in the global models. This paper reports on the local enhancements of WV linked to stratospheric overshoots, observed during the TRO-Pico campaign conducted in March 2012 in Bauru, Brazil, using the BRAMS (Brazilian version of RAMS) mesoscale model. Since numerical simulation depends on the choice of several preferred parameters, each having its uncertainties, we vary the microphysics or the vertical resolution while simulating the overshoots. Thus, we produce a set of simulations illustrating the possible variations in representing the stratospheric overshoots. To resolve better the stratospheric hydration, we opt for simulations with the 800-m-horizontal-grid-point presentation. Next, we validate these simulations against the Bauru S-band radar echo tops and the TRO-Pico balloon-borne observations of WV and particles. Two of the three simulations' setups yield results compatible with the TRO-Pico observations. From these two simulations, we determine approximately 333 t to 2000 t of WV mass prevailing in the stratosphere due to an overshooting plume depending on the simulation setup. About 70% of the ice mass remains between the 380K to 385K isentropic levels. The overshooting top comprises pristine ice and snow, while aggregates only play a role just above the tropopause. Interestingly, the horizontal cross-section of the overshooting top is about 450km² at 380K isentrope, which is similar to the horizontal-grid-point resolution of a simulation that cannot compute overshoots explicitly. These results could establish a forcing scheme of overshooting hydration or dehydration in a large-scale simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]