IDENTIFYING AND QUANTIFYING NEW YORK STATE METHANE SOURCES
Eric Leibensperger
New York State will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2050 in order to combat climate change. Methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas, is a popular target for regulators due to its additional role as a precursor air pollutant. However, limiting methane emissions is difficult because the sources and the magnitude of the sources in New York State are not well known. We use stationary (Whiteface Mountain and Clinton Ford Observatory) and mobile (truck-top and on foot) measurements of methane to better identify and quantify sources. This project provides hands-on fieldwork using state of the science portable spectrometers and computational modeling to interpret observations.