Boston Methane and Ethane Atmospheric Measurements 2012-2020

Atmospheric measurements provide hourly averages of methane (CH4) from five sites and five-minute averages of methane and ethane (C2H6) from one urban site in Boston, Massachusetts. Data collection occurred from September 2012 to May 2020 using Picarro cavity ring down spectrometers and a laser spectrometer. The dataset was produced by ORNL_CLOUD, with background concentrations modeled using HYSPLIT trajectories and NAM meteorology.

Use Cases

• Analyzing urban methane emissions trends using hourly CH4 concentration time-series.
• Investigating correlations between methane and ethane to distinguish between biogenic and fossil fuel emission sources.
• Modeling urban background methane concentrations using HYSPLIT trajectory and wind direction data.
• Studying diurnal and seasonal variations in atmospheric hydrocarbon levels at multiple monitoring sites.

Strengths

• Data spans a long-term period of over seven years, from September 2012 to May 2020.
• Measurements are taken from a network of five distinct sites (two urban, three boundary) for spatial context.
• High-frequency five-minute resolution data is available for ethane and methane at the Copley Square location.
• Concentrations are derived from precise instruments (Picarro CRDS) and supported by HYSPLIT atmospheric modeling.

Limitations

• The exact row count, file size, and complete column schema are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, reporting both 2020 05 31 and 2026 03 13.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without clear terms.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Continuous atmospheric measurements using Picarro cavity ring down spectrometers (CRDS) for methane and a laser spectrometer for ethane, with HYSPLIT model analysis for background concentrations.

Time Range

September 2012 to May 2020

Freshness

2026-03-13 00:23:26.497480

Geography

Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., encompassing two urban sites and three boundary sites in and around the city.