A scientific instrument designed to measure dust concentrations and operating from the ISS has been able to detect sources of methane emissions around the world. The measurements are unsurprising, but come in addition to terrestrial instruments… while several satellites are also in the breach.
However, these are currently the most important sources.
EMIT monitors emissions
The external installation of the EMIT instrument (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) did not really make a big splash in the media this year. This NASA instrument, intended for environmental research, is designed to map and monitor the minerals contained in the dust of the major atmospheric currents, such as those which carry Saharan sand across the Atlantic.
To do this, EMIT measures the spectral signatures of dust compounds. And it just so happens that the one for methane isn’t that far off, so it’s entirely possible to use EMIT to detect broad atmospheric emissions of this important greenhouse gas. These “puffs” are of great interest to researchers, not only for the capabilities of their instrument, but also to be able to act on these emissions in the short and medium term.
A big puff of methane
Some were already mapped, in particular because a large part of the oil and gas sites have dedicated sensors. But a real cloud of methane almost 3 km long has been identified on an oil field in New Mexico (Permian basin) thanks to EMIT. Dozens more are on inventory, and many have never before been detected (or mismapped).
Turkmenistan’s oil and gas infrastructure has been singled out, with puffs of clouds with a high concentration of methane. Almost 20 km long, they are equivalent to a leak of around fifty tonnes of pure methane per hour. And this is still only the beginning. NASA wants to both improve its observation capabilities and reduce the time between measurement and the availability of results.
Under international supervision?
Other satellites, notably European, are interested in measuring atmospheric methane concentrations. This is the case of the small operator GHGSat which operates several CubeSat format satellites around the Earth today.
The ESA and the European Union are working on an orbital platform dedicated to the fine measurement of concentrations within the framework of the Copernicus program, already very well positioned on atmospheric pollutants. The Sentinel-5p satellite has already been studying the concentrations of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and the ozone layer for several years, while the future Sentinel-7 will be dedicated to the observation of CO2.
Source : Smithonian Magazine
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