Understanding, prioritizing, and mitigating methane (CH 4 ) emissions requires quantifying CH 4 budgets from facility scales to regional scales with the ability to differentiate between source sectors. We deployed a tiered observing system for multiple basins in the United States (San Joaquin Valley, Uinta, Denver-Julesburg, Permian, Marcellus). We quantify strong point source emissions (>10 kg CH 4 h −1 ) using airborne imaging spectrometers, attribute them to sectors, and assess their intermittency with multiple revisits. We compare these point source emissions to total basin CH 4 fluxes derived from inversion of Sentinel-5p satellite CH 4 observations. Across basins, point sources make up on average 40% of the regional flux. We sampled some basins several times across multiple months and years and find a distinct bimodal structure to emission timescales: the total point source budget is split nearly in half by short-lasting and long-lasting emission events. With the increasing airborne and satellite observing capabilities planned for the near future, tiered observing systems will more fully quantify and attribute CH 4 emissions from facility to regional scales, which is needed to effectively and efficiently reduce methane emissions.

中文翻译：

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强大的甲烷点源在美国多个盆地的总排放量中所占比例不成比例

了解、优先排序和缓解甲烷 (CH4个) 排放需要量化 CH4个从设施规模到区域规模的预算，能够区分来源部门。我们为美国的多个盆地（圣华金河谷、尤因塔、丹佛-朱尔斯堡、二叠纪、马塞勒斯）部署了分层观测系统。我们量化了强点源排放（>10 kg CH4个H−1) 使用机载成像光谱仪，将它们归因于扇区，并通过多次重访评估它们的间歇性。我们将这些点源排放与总流域 CH 进行比较4个来自 Sentinel-5p 卫星 CH 反演的通量4个观察。在整个流域中，点源平均占区域通量的 40%。我们在数月和数年内对一些盆地进行了多次采样，发现排放时间尺度存在明显的双峰结构：总点源预算被短期和长期排放事件分成近一半。随着计划在不久的将来增加机载和卫星观测能力，分层观测系统将更充分地量化和归因 CH4个从设施到区域规模的排放，这是有效和高效地减少甲烷排放所必需的。