Probabilistic Atmospheric Gas Estimation Grid
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current climate and chemical transport models provide low spatial and temporal resolution estimates of global atmospheric gas concentrations and emissions, making them less useful for individual industrial operators and local governments, and are computationally expensive, relying on specific measurement sources and full atmospheric physics models.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that uses probabilistic and statistical inference techniques to estimate the probability distribution of atmospheric gas concentrations and emissions at high spatial and temporal resolutions, dividing the Earth's surface into small regions for detailed analysis and visualization, allowing for interactive display and real-time updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If full atmospheric physics models are used to estimate gas distribution, then measurement precision is improved, but computational effort and time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive, computationally intensive full atmospheric physics models with cheaper, simplified statistical models that provide sufficient accuracy for the application. These simplified models use probabilistic approaches and statistical inference instead of solving complete physical equations, dramatically reducing computational resources while maintaining acceptable precision for gas distribution estimation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the modeling approach from deterministic physical parameters to probabilistic statistical parameters. Instead of solving complex physical equations with multiple state variables, the system uses statistical distributions and probabilistic inference to estimate gas concentrations, transforming the problem from a physics-based computation to a statistics-based estimation that requires fewer computational resources.
2Area of stationary object
If current climate models are used, then global-scale coverage is achieved, but spatial and temporal resolution deteriorate to low levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the global atmosphere into numerous discrete regions (grid cells) and applies statistical estimation independently to each region. This segmentation allows the system to maintain global coverage while providing high-resolution estimates for each individual region, overcoming the trade-off between coverage area and resolution that plagues traditional climate models.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different statistical parameters and priors to different geographic regions, allowing each local area to have customized estimation characteristics. This local quality approach enables high-resolution regional estimates while maintaining global coverage, as each region can be analyzed with appropriate local conditions and data availability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If current modeling systems are used, then reliance on specific measurement sources is reduced, but adaptability to new data sources deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal statistical framework that can accommodate multiple types of measurement data sources through a common probabilistic interface. The system uses general statistical inference methods that work with various data types (concentration measurements, emission inventories, remote sensing data) without requiring source-specific modeling, thereby achieving high adaptability while keeping the core system relatively simple.
Data Source
AI summary
System and method for estimating how an atmospheric gas is distributed. A server receives prior data related to historical and/or theoretical global patterns of the gas, as well as measurements of the concentration and/or emission of the gas. The server passes the data and measurements to a database for storage and/or to at least one processor, which applies statistical inference methods to estimate a probability distribution of gas concentration and emission within the region. In one embodiment, the entire atmosphere is divided into numerous regions, and gas distributions are evaluated in each region, to thereby produce an estimated distribution covering the atmosphere. In some embodiments, the regions are divisions of an equirectangular projection of the Earth's surface and have a length and width of 0.025°.