Elvidge, Christopher 
  
4.2 Assembly of Georeferenced Data on the Location and Probable Magnitudes of Fossil Fuel Emission Sources 
Data from multiple sources could be used to assemble a Geographic Information System (GIS) compatible database on 
locations and probable magnitude of point sources of fossil fuel trace gas emissions from gas flares and electric power 
plants. Data sources and assembly procedures will include: 
4.2.1Gas Flares 
The location, size and frequency of operation for major gas flares could be extracted from DMSP data (see Figure 1). 
This individual gas flare radiances could be used to allocate the quantity of gas flaring reported by the IEA. The 
associated CO, emissions could then be estimated using software from the International Panel on Climate Change 
(IPCC). The software is described at (http://www.iea.org/ipcc.htm). 
4.2.2 Electric Power Plants 
Locations, fuel type and capacities of electric power plants can be extracted from the McGraw-Hill World Electric 
Power Plants Database (WEPPD), which includes over 91,000 generating units in 220+ countries and territories. The 
WEPPD (http://infostore.mhenergy.com) lists units are operated by utilities, non-utility generators and industrial 
autoproducers. The information is based on direct survey, trade and business press references, manufacturers' experience 
lists, company statistical reports and other sources. This data source is cumbersome to use due to the fact that locations 
of the units are reported as the nearest city or town rather than a geographic coordinate. Other sources for geographical 
locations, such as the World Bank could be investigated. 
The power plant data will be paired with national level reporting on fossil fuel consumption for electric power 
generation from IEA to estimate the quantity of fuel being consumed by each of the identified power plants. The annual 
CO, emissions for each plant will then be estimated using software from the IPCC. 
It is anticipated that we will be able to identify and account for all the major power plants in individual countries. The 
estimated emissions from smaller plants which we are unable to locate will be merged with the diffuse emissions. 
4.2.3 Transportation 
The IEA provides estimates of fossil fuel volumes and fuel types used in transportation. Emissions associated with 
ground transportation (gasoline and diesel fuel) could be spatially allocated based vector roads and railroads from the 
Digital Chart of the World (DCW - http://www.esri.com/data/catalog/esri/dcw_fact.html), with weighting provided by 
the nighttime lights. Spatial distribution of emissions from jet fuel are problematic, but may be satisfactorily resolved by 
working with airport locations from DCW and estimates of the proportion of jet fuel used on the ground. This does not 
address the distribution of in-flight emissions. 
4.2.4 Distribution of Emissions From Diffuse Sources 
The quantity of trace gas emissions associated with diffuse sources (e.g. residential, commercial, and governmental) can 
be defined as the difference between the total emissions minus those accounted for from gas flares, electric power plants, 
and transportation. Emissions from diffuse sources will be apportioned based on the brightness of DMSP observed 
nocturnal lighting. For each nation we will calculate the cumulative brightness and divide this number into the total 
quantity of diffuse emissions from fossil fuel consumption. This will yield a conversion factor for estimating the CO, 
emissions proportionally based on the satellite observed radiance. This procedure will account for national differences 
in lighting patterns and variations in levels of technical development. When this conversion factor is applied, we will 
have an image map in which depicts the estimated annual quantity of CO, emissions in each grid cell. 
4.3 Global Map of Fossil Fuel Trace Gas Emissions 
By adding the four emission map layers (gas flares, electric power plants, transportation and diffuse) a global map of 
fossil fuel trace gas emissions could be generated. 
  
400 International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part B7. Amsterdam 2000.