MethaneSAT has deployed its methane measurement technology aboard a specially equipped jet aircraft that will locate, measure and track methane from oil and gas operations and other sectors across North America. The new MethaneAIR program will inform and augment orbital data collection by MethaneSAT, scheduled to launch in early 2024.
Methane from fossil fuel operations, agriculture and other industries causes roughly 30% of today’s global warming. MethaneAIR and MethaneSAT are designed to help industry and regulators achieve faster, more effective reductions in emissions of this critical greenhouse pollutant. Aircraft and satellite data will be available at no cost, enabling stakeholders to see and compare results over time.
The highly sensitive instruments will see emissions at a regional scale that others can’t, making it possible for the first time to determine total methane emissions over wide areas, including detailed maps of both large sources and countless smaller ones even where those emissions are low. Research suggests these diffuse sources account for a large share of total methane emissions.
“Cutting methane pollution is the fastest, most effective way there is to slow the rate of warming. Our instruments are helping to unlock that opportunity,” said MethaneSAT Project Lead Steven Hamburg. “Frequent high-precision measurements will give companies, regulators and the public actionable new insights to cut methane emissions faster.”
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