Fugitive emissions of natural gas in York, United Kingdom: Adapting existing algorithms parameters to be based on instrument specifications

Abstract. Reducing methane emissions has become increasingly important in recent years due to its importance for radiative forcing. Of the many sources of methane, fugitive emissions from a country's domestic natural gas network are one that can have a direct impact on the citizens of a country. Previous studies have shown the ability to detect these emissions by use of mobile surveys measuring methane, some of these use secondary co-emitted compounds as a means of confirming the nature of the emission. This study aims to adapt existing algorithms parameters by investigating the limitations of equipment used within the platform used for mobile surveys. This has led to reduced enhancement parameters as well as reduced time clustering parameters. These changes suggest that previous methods may underpredict the number of Leak Indications (LIs) by 53.5 % with number of LIs detected in the old method being 27 and the new method detecting 58. When source appointment was included as a core step within the algorithm itself, the total fugitive natural gas emissions within a city was reduced from 185.10 L min^-1 to 60.23 L min^-1, nearly three times lower.