Seminar

Abstract

Methane and black carbon aerosol are thought to be the two most important short-lived climate forcers. Emissions from oil and gas production represent a major emission source of methane while emissions from wildfires are the dominant global source of absorbing aerosol. In this talk I will present recent results from our group’s measurements of methane and associated volatile organic compound emissions from a variety of oil and gas production basins in the United States, including the Permian Basin. Both results and methodology concerns will be discussed. I will also present recent airborne and ground-based measurements of the optical properties of aerosol emitted from biomass burning in the Western United States. These observations will include results from the recent WE-CAN project on the NCAR C-130 aircraft.

---

Shane Murphy is a professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science at the University of Wyoming. He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado, and a PhD from Caltech in 2009 focused on chamber measurements. He completed a National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at NOAA where he developed a single-particle single-scattering albedo measurement. His research at the University of Wyoming focuses on aerosol optical properties and atmospheric impacts of oil and gas development.