GASTRAQ stands for GAS TRAcing and Quantification.

Under this name, we describe all our processes, methods, hardware and software that turn measurements of environmental parameters into meaningful results that help industries fighting climate change and operate more sustainably.

GASTRAQ was originally developed for the quantification of landfill emissions. Because landfill emissions are fugitive and change over time and space using top-down approach is the best way to quantify whole-site emissions there.

Need for top-down approach in other sectors such as Oil and Gas, wastewater biogas and mining, makes GASTRAQ method even more relevant for today’s challenges.

Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions is important for several reasons. One reason is that it allows us to track the levels of these emissions over time, which can help us to understand the impact of human activities on the environment and to identify areas where emissions need to be reduced. Additionally, quantifying emissions can help policymakers to develop effective policies to reduce emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change. It also allows individuals, organizations and countries to measure and track their own emissions to set goals and reduce them over time. Finally, quantifying emissions is important for international agreements such as the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming by keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The GASTRAQ method is owned and deployed by our company ReSource International ehf. For the past 10 years, we have delivered environmental consulting and monitoring services in various fields with always an innovative approach.

The company is born on a landfill and waste management and drone monitoring have been a core business for us. We have developed recently more capacity in digitalization and data processing to face the biggest challenges that our planet is facing today and we want to act as a bridge between industry and science.

Feel free to let us know how we can help you.

The top-down approach for emissions monitoring involves using atmospheric measurements to estimate the total emissions of a pollutant, such as greenhouse gases, from a specific area or site. This approach typically involves measuring the concentration of the pollutant in the atmosphere using monitoring equipment, such as ground-based monitoring stations, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), aircraft, or satellites. The concentration data is then used to create a model of the atmospheric transport of the pollutant, which can be used to estimate the total emissions of the pollutant from a specific region or country.

Top-down approach is seen as a complementary approach to the bottom-up approach, which involves estimating emissions by directly measuring the sources of pollution, such as factories, power plants, and vehicles. The Top-down approach is considered as more accurate than bottom-up approach for certain gases such as methane, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds.

The top-down approach is often used in conjunction with the bottom-up approach to provide a more complete and accurate picture of emissions from a site.

Quantifying emissions from landfills can be challenging for several reasons. One reason is that the composition of waste in landfills can vary widely, making it difficult to estimate the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced by the decomposition of the waste. Additionally, the rate at which waste decomposes in a landfill can vary depending on factors such as the type of waste, the moisture content, and the temperature.

Another reason is that the gases produced by landfills are often difficult to measure directly. For example, while methane can be measured using specialized equipment, other gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are more difficult to measure, and may require the use of sophisticated monitoring equipment.

Also, the waste in landfills might not be well-mixed, and the gases produced in one area of the landfill may not be well-represented by measurements taken in another area. This means that it can be difficult to obtain an accurate picture of the emissions from the entire landfill.

Finally, Landfills are also not operated continuously and the emissions also vary with time. This can also make it difficult to accurately estimate emissions from landfills over a certain period of time.

All these factors can make it difficult to accurately quantify emissions from landfills, making it challenging to develop effective policies to reduce emissions from this source.

For the quantification of gas emissions, a project will start with an assessment of your site and flying conditions around it. You simply indicate to us the location of the area of interest and the purpose of your request.

After the quote is accepted, our operational team will take care of the logistics and practical details. The measurements on-site usually take one to two days to be done. After that, the data will be processed and a full report showing the results will be delivered. In the report, we make efforts to describe the data collected, the quality and the uncertainty generated during the processing in a transparent matter so that you are included in the process and can take ownership of the results.

As of now, we care delivered surveys that cover the quantification of methane (CH4) and concentrations of methane (CH4) and CO2. If you have access to sensors that can measure other gases (e.g. N2O) at a high precision level and that can be integrated with a drone, we are open to considering special integration.

Our method will work nonetheless as we are sensor agnostic.

The Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0) is a multi-stakeholder initiative launched by UNEP and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition. The OGMP 2.0 is the only comprehensive, measurement-based reporting framework for the oil and gas industry that improves the accuracy and transparency of methane emissions reporting in the oil and gas sector.

Level 5 is the highest level of measurement accuracy and completeness according to OGMP 2.0. It is intended for facilities where the largest amount of methane emissions occur and where the measurement results will have the greatest impact. The measurement methods used at level 5 are expected to have a lower measurement uncertainty than levels 1-4 and must be validated by a third party. Additionally, the measurement methods used at level 5 are expected to be able to detect and quantify methane emissions at the lower end of the measurement range. This level is intended for sites that have higher emissions, or sites that are considered to be of high importance for policy or regulatory purposes.

It is worth mentioning that OGMP 2.0 is a guidance and is not a standard or regulation, thus companies and countries may have their own protocols for measuring emissions and the level 5 may have different criteria depending on the context.

More information can be found on the official website from the OGMP 2.0 initiative.