Estimating CO2 and CH4 Emissions from Washington DC Using Low Cost Sensors and Small Drone Technology

Overview

Anthropogenic emissions of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) especially from large cities have resulted in the build-up of greenhouse gas concentrations responsible for climate change. Existing greenhouse gas sensor technology is both too heavy and expensive for large-scale use in urban areas, and current platforms for measurement are limited in height and stability. In this project, I present the construction and calibration of an inexpensive methane and carbon dioxide sensor. A small low-powered drone was designed and built to serve as a stable platform for accurate measurements. An atmospheric transport/inversion model to estimate emission inventories for large cities using data collected by drones and tower networks was developed. Low-cost sensor data compared favorably with state-of-the-art instruments (correlation factor = 0.99), and exhibited expected diurnal cycles and traffic patterns. Successful flight demonstrates the potential for sensor-mounted drones to make continuous atmospheric measurements. The predicted CO2 emission inventory for Washington DC showed a large contribution from the transportation sector. Overall, I demonstrate a methodology to measure and monitor city-wide CO2 and CH4 emissions by combining low-cost lightweight sensors, small drone technology and mathematical models, and taking the first step to targeting specific greenhouse gas sources and reducing overall emissions.

Awards (2)

• Second Award of $2,000 $2,000
• American Meteorological Society: First Award of $2,000 $2,000

Competition history

• ISEF 2017 Earth and Environmental Sciences · Entry EAEV050

Resources

• ISEF abstract page ↗

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.