Sensitivity of Fugitive Methane Detection from Australian Coal Seam Gas Fields

Australian atmospheric monitoring station 'Arcturus' in the Bowen Basin collected three years of continuous methane and carbon dioxide measurements. The dataset underpins a simulation study modeling fugitive emissions from a typical coal seam gas field at varying rates and distances. Results, including statistical detection likelihoods and false alarm rates, were presented at the American Geophysical Union meeting in December 2013.

Use Cases

• Modeling detection sensitivity for fugitive methane emissions based on simulated emission rates and distances.
• Developing baseline time-series models for atmospheric methane to distinguish background signals from industrial sources.
• Statistical analysis of perturbed versus baseline atmospheric signals to test for the presence of fugitive emissions.
• Assessing the influence of cattle, landfill, and coal production on methane signals in a gas-producing basin.

Strengths

• Three years of continuous atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide measurements provide a substantial baseline.
• Simulations are based on parameters typical of Australian CSG fields, including well density, production volumes, and field size.
• Analysis includes statistical measures for both detection likelihood and false alarm rates.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is associated with a 2013 study; freshness should be verified for current applications.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia and CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research.

Collection Method

Continuous atmospheric measurements at the 'Arcturus' monitoring station, coupled with simulations using the TAPM meteorological and air pollution model.

Time Range

Three-year baseline measurement period (specific dates not provided).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 02:06:14.774189; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Bowen Basin, Australia.