As local, region, and the national governments seek to mitigate GHG emissions, urban centers are central to reduction strategies as cities are responsible for 60% to 80% of emissions

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded a $260,941 Cooperative Agreement (CFDA 11.609 - Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards) to The Research Foundation For The State University Of New York, doing business as Stony Brook University. The purpose of this 2-year award, effective June 1, 2024, is to support improved accuracy of science-based quantification of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and biogenic exchange in urban and regional settings. Key activities will include:

1. Utilizing advances in airborne atmospheric inversion methods to estimate emissions in the Baltimore/Washington, DC region.
2. Developing and improving modeling tools to better quantify atmospheric exchange of CO2 and methane from anthropogenic and biospheric sources.
3. Refining modeling for interpretation of remote sensing data on atmospheric GHG concentrations.
4. Increasing understanding of GHG transport in the lower atmosphere through use of high-resolution Doppler lidar data.

The project aims to enable the scientific and user communities to improve the conduct of quantitative top-down measurements of greenhouse gas emission rates at different scales, with the potential to provide actionable information and feedback to local governments and communities.

Activities

This research specifically supports improved accuracy of science-basedquantification of anthropogenic emissions and biogenic exchange of CO2 and methane with the atmospherein urban and regional settings and will allow:1. Quantification of GHG emissions from stationary sources,2. Development and improvement of modeling tools to better quantify anthropogenic and biospheric atmosphericexchange,3. Refinement of modeling tools for interpretation of remote sensing of atmospheric GHG concentrationsobservations, AND4. Increased understanding of GHG transport in the lower atmosphere.

Expected outcomes

Demonstrations will include:1. Utilize recent advances in airborne atmospheric inversion methods to estimate emissions from the airand investigate their performance for specific areas of interest primarily in the baltimore/washington, DC region.2. Quarterly to monthly GHG emissions estimates using spatially and temporally explicit hestia emissionsmodel results combined with advances in atmospheric methods mainly addressing improvementsto atmospheric transport models based on advanced meteorological data, e.g., multiple dopplerlidar observations.3. Use of high-resolution doppler lidar measurement data to evaluate and improve meteorologicalmodel performance as a means of decreasing uncertainty in emissions estimates based on combinedtop-down and bottom-up methods.4. Advances in hyperspectral imaging analysis for both CO2 and methane plumes near emission sourcesto enable urban flux quantification at local scale, with very high spatial resolution (~ 30-meters TO300-meter resolutions).

Intended beneficiaries

Academia, local and state governments, and the private sector.

Subrecipient activities

The recipient does not intend to subaward funds.