The US State of California has partnered with NASA in a $100 million (€83 million) project aiming to use satellites to pinpoint large greenhouse gas emissions from individual sources such as oil refineries and power plants.
Monthly average atmospheric methane for January 2016. Source NASA
Monthly average atmospheric methane for January 2016. Source: NASA
The partnership, which also includes satellite company Planet, and four other institutions will launch its first two satellites in 2023. The project could help in putting further pressure on heavy polluting industries, which are already being targeted by investors and environmental groups, to clean up their emissions.
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Using satellite technology to identify large sources of methane - which is in the short term up to 80 times more potent than CO2 - is becoming more common. Scientists say that identifying them is crucial to making the necessary emissions cuts.
The project is operating as part of the Carbon Mapper non-profit organisation, which is funded by philanthropic organisations including former New York mayor and media mogul Michael Bloomberg.
The satellites will utilise Nasa-develop technology which for the first time has the scale and accuracy to find and measure emissions at individual facilities.
Other satellite technology is currently being used to map and monitor greenhouse gas emissions over larger geographical areas.
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The emissions data will be shared publicly but companies can subscribe to get early access allowing them to make changes quickly, if necessary.
Carbon Mapper CEO Riley Duren said the project will be "transformational", adding that there was "significant interest in using this type of technology" to locate emissions leaks.
The use of satellites has grown from prior methane-tracking surveys that used planes to identify methane "super-emitters" in agriculture and the oil and gas and waste sectors particularly.
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