A new satellite with “unprecedented” precision launched flight Monday with a mission to closely monitor methane emissions from oil and gas companies.
A text from Valerie Boisclair
After the successful launch from Vandenberg military base in California, the satellite must orbit the planet, completing 15 rotations per day in search of an invisible enemy: methane.
This greenhouse gas, which has a 20-year warming potential 80 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2), escapes from oil and gas facilities, farms and landfills.
Colorless and odorless, methane is the main element in the composition of natural gas, a fossil energy source used to power industrial complexes and heat homes. Leaks occur throughout the production chain and the gas is released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
These emissions are therefore responsible for around 30% of the global temperature increase.
Methane emissions are often underestimated and difficult to measure. Oil and gas companies can install sensors or use drones or aircraft to fly over facilities, but the data collected is incomplete and varies from source to source.
To provide the most accurate portrait possible, MethaneSAT relies on cutting-edge technology that allows it to detect concentrations of this gas over a vast area with an unprecedented level of precision, according to the NGO behind it, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). the device.
The satellite is designed to detect changes in gas concentrations in the atmosphere as low as three parts per billion.
Although satellite monitoring systems for measuring greenhouse gas emissions already exist, these are more effective when targeting a specific region. MethaneSAT will be able to detect leaks from large emitters that other satellites cannot detect, EDF states.
MethaneSAT's superpower lies in its ability to precisely measure methane levels at high resolution over large areas, including the smaller, diffuse sources that are responsible for most emissions in many regions.
Steven Hamburg, scientific director of EDF and project manager of MethaneSAT
To calculate the amount of methane emissions in a given region and monitor their evolution over time, EDF has developed algorithms in collaboration with Google.
The project also brings together nearly 70 experts, including engineers and scientists from Harvard University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the New Zealand Space Agency.
Because MethaneSAT's coverage is broader in space and time than previous satellites, it is more likely to detect large leaks, said Daniel Horen Greenford, a postdoctoral researcher specializing in geography and environmental studies and author of a report on methane leaks caused by liquefied natural gas.
The MethaneSAT stands out for its very sensitive detection system for a satellite with such a large field of view, he notes.
If other satellites, such as the Vanguard of the Quebec company GHGSat, are likely to be more effective at identifying specific emissions on a given infrastructure, it is necessary to contract private companies to conduct flights over the facilities and collect the data. Combined with on-site leak measurement work, this solution can be costly.
The fact that an organization like EDF is able to raise the necessary funds for a large-scale project like MethaneSAT's is completely unprecedented and impressive, adds Daniel Horen Greenford.
Data published
EDF's goal is to make the data obtained by MethaneSAT available to the public online, particularly on Google Earth Engine, starting next year. Governments and organizations can use this to check whether the oil and gas industry is actually working to reduce its methane emissions.
THE [suivi] Measuring local and regional methane rates in real time is an important contribution. And the fact that this data is freely accessible is a huge advantage that could significantly improve transparency and hold the industry accountable.
Daniel Horen Greenford, postdoctoral researcher
By providing this data, EDF expects to increase pressure on major polluters to do their part. It's gone [d’obtenir d’eux] more transparency to have more reliable data. The researcher explains that it will be much easier to hold the industry accountable later.
So far, 155 countries have committed to reducing their methane emissions. Also at COP28 on climate change in Dubai at the end of 2023, around fifty oil and gas companies expressed their desire to reduce these emissions by 80 to 90% by 2030.
Last January, the Biden administration proposed tightening its methane regulations by imposing a fee on excess emissions from the U.S. oil and gas sector.
For its part, Canada plans to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by at least 75% by 2030 compared to 2012 emissions.