Detecting greenhouse gas emissions from space: Large-scale blind testing of methane detection satellites

A key challenge in solving the climate problem is the difficulty of estimating and verifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rates from energy systems around the world. In recent years, satellites have increasingly been used to detect methane emitted from oil and gas infrastructure, coal mines, landfills, and other sources.  Some of these satellites are re-purposed general remote sensing instruments, while others are designed specifically for GHG detection.  I will discuss a year-long field experiment that is underway, in which we perform blind testing of 11 major satellite detection instruments. I will also discuss differences in performance between 15 analysis teams from around the world. I will show results from the first 6 months of the experiment, and discuss future directions for the project.

Speaker: Adam Brandt, Stanford University