A Gassy City

This may be a relatively short update, but at long last, after six weeks of prep work, we’re taking real methane samples. We’ve been out driving the MINERVA setup four times already, and the process is beginning to become very enjoyable. I find it nice to be able to get off campus for a while a few times a week, and we now have data to actually apply to the weeks of infrastructural work we carried out to support the project as a whole. I must say having written a few weeks ago about how muddled progress has been, with multiple setbacks for seemingly every point of progress, it is nice to have found a patch of consistent progress.

The most exciting point to come from all of this progress is definitely an unknown methane/ethane hotspot on Mason avenue, not far from downtown Appleton. I should temper my excitement as of course we hope not to find leaks; the last thing we want is poor air quality for residents in the areas we map. With that in mind though, it is very intriguing. The site, whose ethane:methane ratio is indicative of a thermogenic source, is seemingly just located in the middle of the street. It is the only leak of its kind we’ve found, and the clearest to see in the MINERVA’s data records. I’ll include one of our maps zoomed in on the area in question to illustrate the length to which this source sticks out like a sore thumb from the background levels of radiation surrounding it.

As one can see, there is a rather abrupt blip of around a full part-per-million a few blocks down Mason Avenue off of Wisconsin Avenue, only for emissions to immediately return to the background level within Appleton of around 1.95 ppm, give or take a few parts-per-billion. Not only is it quite the anomaly, but a consistent one at that. We have mapped this exact stretch of road around 5 times, and found the same hike in emissions all on but one occasion (this could very well be down to wind direction and speed, which a look at the weather data (once properly coded out) will be able to tell us). Personally, my guess is a leaky pipe from one of the local natural gas distribution companies. Regardless, it is nice to see some real world application of the work I’ve done, even if the implications of those results are not exactly positive. Given that my talk's focus will be primarily on the thermogenic side of methane emissions, this source also gives me something interesting to speak about during my talk at the end of the summer as well. Having previously spoken about my struggles with the workflow that comes along with scientific work, I must say I am now very much enjoying the results end of the long slog of prep work. Here's to progress!

-Sean