As climate change continues to intensify, growing interest in equitable clean energy transition has emerged to address the environmental and public health impacts of aging energy infrastructure. Of special concern is aging natural gas infrastructure, which serves as a significant source of the potent greenhouse gas (GHG) methane (CH4) and poses risk to the health and safety of the public. The concentration of aging natural gas distribution pipelines in urban centers has motivated this research, examining dynamic interactions among natural gas distribution pipelines, street tree canopies, and local climate action plans. This dissertation approaches the study of urban natural gas systems using an infrastructure ecology framework – a framework to investigate the dynamic relationships among elements of built, natural, and social infrastructure.
The results of three studies reported below aim to improve our knowledge of the environmental impacts of aging natural gas infrastructure in urban centers and examine policy opportunities for a clean energy transition. Using a temporal and spatial dataset of street tree condition and soil CH4 and oxygen concentrations across Brookline, MA we were able to model the impact of CH4 on the success of a street tree using the spatial Durbin model. We find that persistent exposure to CH4 and diminished oxygen in the soil pit is correlated with poor tree condition.
Next, utilizing a novel virtual data collection application, we tracked the location of leak-prone natural gas distribution infrastructure along the streets of Chelsea, MA. By producing and combining this unique dataset with the comprehensive street tree inventory completed by the municipality, we examined for the first time the relationship between street tree condition and proximity to leak-prone distribution pipe. Results from this analysis were suggestive and demonstrated a need for more comprehensive spatial data collection using virtual tools that can detect dynamic changes in the infrastructure to explain phenomena we are not yet able to interpret. Findings suggest the importance of considering the location of leak-prone pipelines when planting new street trees and protecting existing mature trees.
Finally, we introduce the term and conceptual framework ‘infrastructure biome’ to define and describe the interconnected and dependent built, social, and natural infrastructure systems that extend beyond jurisdictional borders. We propose that energy transition policy, specifically a transition off natural gas, would benefit from a regional collaborative policy to achieve the ambitious climate action goals of cities and states throughout the region. Using publicly available natural gas pipeline data, we examine aging and leak-prone natural gas infrastructure for the first time at a regional scale and recommend a collaborative policy to address the shared obstacle of aging natural gas infrastructure to achieve climate action goals.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/48022 |
| Date | 07 February 2024 |
| Creators | Wright, Jessica Lynn |
| Contributors | Phillips, Nathan G., Gopal, Sucharita |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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