SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Picarro, Inc. and The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, are partnering to measure greenhouse gases region-wide for the first time in the Bay Area.
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The partnership will utilize a comprehensive monitoring network to measure actual amounts of GHGs added to the atmosphere from local and regional sources, instead of relying on modeled data, which is standard practice for air quality regulators.
In California, the Air District has launched its own initiative to achieve significant regional GHG reductions. The agency has pledged to reduce GHG emissions 80 percent from 1990 levels by the year 2050, and is developing a regional strategy to set a course for achieving that goal. The Picarro – Air District GHG monitoring network will play an important role in this effort, by helping to validate and improve the agency's regional GHG emissions inventory.
The monitoring network consists of four fixed locations around the Bay Area to measure GHGs and help identify associated sources. The monitors are located in Sonoma, Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara counties. The Picarro instruments deliver accurate, real-time measurements of specific gases in the air. The Air District will share data with the California Air Resources Board.
"As the world's attention turns toward the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, it's more important than ever that local government agencies step up to the plate to limit greenhouse gas emissions in their communities," said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. "The Air District's new greenhouse gas monitoring initiative is the first of its kind in the country and will help provide the scientific basis for our ambitious Climate Protection Program designed to put us on track to reducing Bay Area GHG emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050."
To verify and validate other components of GHG emissions estimates, the Air District is also developing a mobile monitoring unit. A van, equipped with Picarro GHG analyzers, can be positioned upwind and downwind of GHG emissions sources like landfills, oil refineries and wastewater treatment plants, allowing for more specific measurement of emissions. The Picarro instruments will allow the Air District to determine the source of certain emissions - for example, whether methane emissions originated from a refinery versus a landfill. The van will begin collecting measurements during the first half of 2016.
Picarro analyzers are the de facto standard for other urban, regional and global atmospheric measurement networks, including the CarboCount City network in Paris, the World Meteorological Organization's Global Atmosphere Watch program and the China Meteorological Administration on both city as well as national scales. In addition to providing data to atmospheric scientists, measurements from these networks will inform the major policy decisions required in response to outcomes from international meetings such as the Paris climate change conference, the so called COP21.
"I'm excited for the partnership with the Air District as it marks that data from Picarro analyzers are being used to inform regulations that can impact climate change," said Jan Willem Poelmann, Senior Vice President of Sales at Picarro. "I hope to see an increased number of such partnerships with policy makers, helping them make informed decisions based on reliable measurement data and more accurate inventories. Without using quantitative measurements, to claim you are using development strategies that are truly sustainable and green is like saying you're going on a diet without ever setting foot on a scale. Picarro can provide that scale."
About Picarro, Inc.
Picarro, Inc. is the world's leading producer of greenhouse gas and optical stable isotope instruments. The company's products are all designed and manufactured at Picarro's Santa Clara, California headquarters and exported to countries worldwide.
Media Contact:
Picarro, Inc.
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Bay Area Air Quality Management District
[email protected]
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SOURCE Picarro, Inc.
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