Contributing to a Greener NY: Analysis of methane emissions in NYS

New York State is reducing its carbon footprint through the Community Leadership and Climate Protection Act. One important target is methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes 35% of the state's CO2-equivalent emissions. Here we present the results of mobile observations to better identify and quantify emissions of methane in central New York. Two mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy gas analyzers were mounted inside a van with an air inlet and weather sensor mounted on the roof. We used high resolution GPS data to map and analyze recorded observations. Applying Gauss's law as a form of mass balance, the amount of methane emitted from different sectors were estimated. Sites include farms, wastewater treatment plants, mines, landfills, and natural gas infrastructure. The largest and most consistent source from our sites comes from a large landfill, with more than 1000 kg CH4/hr of emissions. A more modest source of methane was discovered at numerous visits to a mining operation, including two distinct plumes with ethane:methane ratios of 0.010 and 0.007. The plumes are not from natural gas infrastructure, which has local ratios of 0.019. A DJI Matrice 600 Pro drone was used to collect airborne observations to assess the profile of the emission plume from a manure storage lagoon, which extended 6 m in depth. Our results show the utility of our methods to better account and track changes in methane emissions.