Hu, L., Andrews, A.E., Montzka, S.A., Miller, S.M., Bruhwiler, L., Oh, Y., Sweeney, C., Miller, J.B., McKain, K., Ibarra Espinosa, S. and Davis, K., 2025. An Unexpected Seasonal Cycle in US Oil and Gas Methane Emissions. Environmental Science & Technology. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.4c14090
This academic paper details a study quantifying U.S. methane emissions between 2008 and 2021 using atmospheric measurements and modeling. The researchers employed inverse modeling with ground and airborne data and transport simulations to estimate emissions. While the study's overall emission levels, spatial patterns, and trends are consistent with some prior research, a key finding is the identification of a previously unacknowledged seasonal cycle in methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. This seasonality shows higher emissions during winter compared to summer, a finding supported by additional atmospheric measurements of methane, propane, and methane isotopes. The paper notes that the specific reasons for this winter increase remain unclear, but the spatial distribution points towards natural gas production as the primary source, with natural gas consumption also contributing.
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