New Satellites Accurately Detect Methane Emissions
Researchers have successfully validated the use of satellite technology to track methane emissions from space with high accuracy. While weather conditions and smaller leaks present challenges, the data provides a reliable tool for regulators and energy producers to identify and mitigate major climate-warming gas leaks.
Why it matters
Improved monitoring of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is critical for global climate change mitigation efforts and holding energy producers accountable.
This is the first time that scientists have been able to track methane emissions from space.
Tracking invisible climate-warming gas from space used to be a long shot. That was until a team of scientists proved that orbit-based monitoring could work.
In a study published on October 14 in Nature, researchers from the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability conducted the largest controlled test of space-based methane monitoring ever. They timed 481 controlled methane releases in Casa Grande, Arizona, matching them with overpasses from 11 different satellites.
Fifteen independent teams across nine countries analyzed the images to see if they could spot the gas. The results showed that specialized methane sensors correctly caught 92% to 100% of the plumes on clear days.
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