A new satellite will measure global methane emissions, but why does agriculture’s contribution remain so elusive?
The team behind the world’s most advanced methane-monitoring satellite, MethaneSat, are keen on metaphors about cleaning. “About the size of a washing machine,” was how environmental scientist Steven Wofsy, described the orbiting object at a press conference ahead of its launch. “Like a push-broom,” was his phrase for its capacity to scan the surface of the Earth.
The metaphors are apt. Methane is a particularly dirty greenhouse gas, driving about 30% of the heating the planet has experienced so far. It breaks down in the atmosphere in just 12 years, which is much sooner than the centuries taken by CO2 – but it is also around 80 times more powerful over a 20-year time span.
With 60% of global methane emissions coming from human activities, reductions are essential to reaching the world’s climate change targets. Equally, if not addressed in a timely way, it could contribute to the passing of dangerous tipping points that lead to rapid and irreversible change around the globe.
MethaneSat aims to help by providing an independent source of methane monitoring, with a primary focus on methane leaked from oil and gas fields – such as the recent, months-long mega leak in Kazakhstan, which resulted in the release of 127,000 tonnes of the potent gas. By supplementing existing satellite data with even more precise measurements, MethaneSat hopes to provide a near-comprehensive view of global leaks.
Transition Studies 