Articles | Volume 18, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4527-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4527-2025
Research article
 | 
15 Sep 2025
Research article |  | 15 Sep 2025

Orphaned oil and gas well methane emission rates quantified using Gaussian plume inversions of ambient observations

Emily Follansbee, James E. Lee, Mohit L. Dubey, Jonathan F. Dooley, Curtis Shuck, Ken Minschwaner, Andre Santos, Sebastien C. Biraud, and Manvendra K. Dubey

Data sets

Gaussian Plume Inversions of Methane Fluxes from a Super-Emitting Orphan Well using Ambient Observations to Prioritize Plugging & Carbon Credits Emily Follansbee https://doi.org/10.17632/3p598pbhz6.1

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Short summary
This work uses ambient methane and wind measurements to quantify methane emissions from a leaking orphaned oil and gas well using Gaussian plume inversions. Our analysis shows that existing Gaussian plume methods that assume atmospheric stability are prone to large errors. We report a more robust analysis that determines plume dispersion coefficients from our in situ observations. Our technique enables more accurate methane quantification of orphaned oil and gas wells to prioritize plugging.
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