With details on the economic sector, fuel and combustion processes, the entire U.S. on high epoch-place and time-resolution. Emission map of the landscape. Credit: Courtesy University of Northern Arizona
The map features greenhouse gas emissions across the U.S. landscape at high location and time-resolution with details on the economic sector, fuel and combustion processes.
With intense wildfires in the western U.S. and frequent, severe hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, the nation has again been affected by climate-related extreme events as a result of climate-change. In response, cities, states and territories across the country are developing carbon dioxide (CO2) policies primarily to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Although many state and local governments are committed to these goals, the emissions data they work with is often too expensive to provide a very general and useful baseline and to target a very effective policy.
Kevin Guerney, Professor of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems at the University of Northern Arizona School of Information, released the results today. Journal of Geophysical Research Details of greenhouse gas emissions at a high location and throughout the U.S. landscape, with details on the economic sector, fuel and combustion processes.
Gurney, an expert in meteorological science, ecology and public policy, has developed a standard system over the years as part of the Vulcan Project, which quantifies and visualizes individual power plants, greenhouse gases emitted in the neighborhood and the country below. To enable good decisions about the route, identifying problem areas and where to effectively cut emissions. Leading a nationwide study, Guerniy emitted maps of many major cities, including the Los Angeles Megacity, Indianapolis, Washington, DC / Baltimore Metropolitan Area, and Salt Lake City.
Funded by NASA, Guerney has developed high-resolution emission maps as an effective tool for scientific and policy applications. Their goal is to provide policymakers across the country with a tool to strategically address problem areas rather than adopt an inefficient, costly approach.
“We have the U.S. on national, state and local scales. We are providing policy makers with scalpels instead of hammers. Policies that may be relevant to California will probably be less relevant to Chicago or New York. They need to have information that reflects their unique conditions but follows a strict, standard scientific approach. That way, they can count on numbers, which, in turn, will stimulate smart investment in reducing emissions. “
One of the strengths of Guerny’s approach is the recognition of CO through atmospheric monitoring2 From ground-based and satellite devices
“By independently synthesizing building and road-scale emissions with independence and Accuracy “We have the best possible estimate of emissions with policy-related detail,” said Gurney, of “atmospheric monitoring.”
By characteristic of CO2 Emissions per kilometer across the U.S. landscape, from coast to coast, Guerney has pointed out that the system is available to every U.S. Provides the city with an inventory of emissions. “With our data product covering all U.S. cities, we are able to give each city a consistent and comprehensive assessment of their emissions. U.S. Like the weather forecasting system, this problem is best solved with a single systemic approach and shared with city officials so they know how to do better than anyone else – reducing emissions to meet their individual needs. Is. “Guerny said.
Reference: “The Vulcan Version High.0 High-Resolution Fossil Fuel CO2 Kevin R. Emissions to the United States, September 15, 2020, by Gurney, Jianming Liang, Risa Patrasuk, Yang Song, Jianhua Huang, and Geoffrey Roast JGR atmospheric.
DOI: 10.1029 / 2020JD032974
Data from the Vulcan Mapping Project is available at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Data Archive. Additional image is available on the Vulcan website. This research has been made possible by the support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grant NNX14AJ20G and the NASA Carbon Monitoring System Program, understanding the user’s needs for the Carbon Information Project (subcontract 1491755).
Guerney joined NAU in 2018, where he is continuing research, having started roles at other universities. He has been involved with the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention and the Kyoto Protocol for 25 years and is the lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In addition to his interests in carbon cycle science and policy, he has worked on stratospheric ozone depletion, radionuclide dose assessment, energy emission systems, and climate-economic modeling.
