Insights into Elevated Methane Emissions from an Australian Open-Cut Coal Mine Using Two Independent Airborne Techniques

作者：Jakob Borchardt, Stephen J. Harris, Jörg Hacker, Mark F. Lunt, Sven Krautwurst, Mei Bai, Hartmut Bösch, H. Bovensmann, John P. Burrows, Shakti Chakravarty, R. A. Field, Konstantin Gerilowski, Oke Huhs, W. Junkermann, Bryce F. J. Kelly, Martin Kumm, Wolfgang Lieff, Andrew McGrath, Adrian Murphy, Josua Schindewolf, Jakob Thoböll · 发表于：Environmental Science & Technology Letters · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1021/acs.estlett.4c01063 · 被引用次数：14 · 研究领域：Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics、Coal Properties and Utilization、Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Governments and industries worldwide are seeking methods to accurately estimate their methane inventories, particularly in the open-cut coal mining sector, where quantifying facility-level emissions remains challenging and robust verification methods are not yet widespread. Here, we compare methane emission rates estimated from two aircraft-based measurement platforms with operator-reported emissions from an open-cut coal mine in the Bowen Basin (Queensland, Australia). Coarse-resolution satellite-based data identified the mine as a significant emitter, making it ideal for case studies using airborne in situ and remote sensing platforms that provide high-resolution measurements to isolate mine-scale emissions. Using airborne in situ measurements, we estimated methane emission rates of 14.0 ± 3.3 (±2σ) t h –1 during May and June 2022. In September 2023, airborne in situ and remote sensing measurements yielded consistent emission rate estimates of 9.6 ± 1.9 (±2σ) t h –1 and 11.3 ± 5.3 (±2σ) t h –1, respectively. If sustained, these rates would equate to annual emissions of 1.5–4.2 Mt of CO 2 equivalents (CO 2 -e) year –1, 3–8 times higher than operator-reported annual Scope 1 emissions (0.53–0.54 Mt of CO 2 -e year –1 ). Beyond highlighting the potential for under-reporting of emissions at this mine, our results indicate that aircraft-based technologies are valuable tools for supporting accurate reporting of facility-scale meth...