Back to the Field!

Hello from the Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center (METEC) (https://energy.colostate.edu/metec/) at Colorado State University (CSU) in Ft Collins! I’m Navodi Jayarathne, a PhD student in Kate Smits research group (https://smitshydrolab.uta.edu/)  at The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). As part of multiple interdisciplinary projects funded by the Department of Transportation, Energy and the Northeast Gas Association the CSU/UTA Methane Migration team is running a three-month series of natural gas experiments aimed at finding solutions for underground natural gas leakage related challenges. The METEC pipeline experimental testbed is equipped with environmental sensors to make shallow subsurface, near surface, and atmospheric natural gas (NG) measurements. The on-going integrated experiment series was designed to address multiple underground NG leakage related questions including the expansion of gas plumes based on soil and atmospheric conditions, the formation of preferential pathways and to evaluate the existing and emerging leak detection and quantification (LDAQ) solutions for underground NG leaks. Nothing like being out in the field in the beautiful Colorado summer!

Cheers,

Navodi Jayarathne

 Photo curtsey: Dr. Younki Cho, Postdoctoral researcher, The University of Texas at Arlington, USA