Abstract |
The Global Emissions Database (GloED) is a user-friendly, menu-driven tool for storing and retrieving emissions factors and activity data on a country-specific basis. Data can be selected from databases resident within GloED and/or supplied by the user. The data are used to construct emissions scenarios for the countries and sources selected. References are linked to the data to ensure clear data pedigrees. The scenario outputs can be displayed on thematic global maps or other graphic outputs such as pie or bar charts. In addition, data files can be exported to a printer. This distribution version of the GloED incorporates in its database twelve different "datasets." The majority of the datasets are single gas (i.e., methane emissions datasets). Some of the datasets include emissions from several greenhouse gases. The sources included emission from: motor vehicles, landfills, minor CH4 sources, rice cultivation, fuelwood burning, global VOC, animal waste methane, animal enteric CH4, domestic waste water, underground mines, biomass burning, and CH4 from oil and gas production. GloED is a software system designed as a tool to generate estimates of global emissions by combining pollutant-specific emission factors with quantitative data on emission-producing activities for that source. GloED also serves as a repository for emissions data, activity data, and emission factors. Emission-producing activities are grouped into discrete datasets within GloED, based on the source of the data. Datasets may be named for the major component source categories contained in them. Most datasets are based on data from a single study. When you select one or more datasets of activities, you then have the option of narrowing the scope of the data by selecting the desired data contained associated with the datasets. You can select by country, sector, fuel, and/or pollutant. Within the dataset filters for source categories and fuels, there are hierarchical groupings of
information so that the data requested can be as specific as possible. The final set of selected activities is used to generate the emissions inventory scenario. The GloED Scenario feature adds considerable flexibility to GloED. It allows "mix and match" of data included in multiple datasets so the user can construct an emissions inventory that combines data from multiple datasets or selections from a single dataset. The contents of the emission inventories generated by GloED can be reported in a variety of ways. A text summary of the emission inventories will generate a tabular breakdown of the results by pollutant, sector, and/or country. GloED can also provide a pie chart or bar chart showing the top 9 emitting countries in a format that allows easy comparison. Finally, GloED can project the results of an emissions inventory onto a global map, using colors to designate the amount and distribution of pollutants in the selected scenario. All of these output formats can be viewed on the screen, saved to a file, or printed as hard copy.
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