Methane released from oil and gas infrastructure is a major contributor to global warming. ... [+]
Some of the biggest names in tech and environmental advocacy have joined forces to deal with a menace that scientists say is accelerating an existential threat to civilization.
With the help of a Falcon 9 rocket from aerospace pioneer SpaceX, on Monday Environmental Defense Fund and the New Zealand Space Agency launched MethaneSAT, a satellite designed to target emissions of methane—a gas more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide in its planet-warming potential.
With the platform now in orbit, search giant Google will use its AI capabilities to analyze data captured by the satellite and translate it into a picture that makes sense to NGOs, businesses and the public in the fight to stop the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change.
MethaneSAT claims it will offer the most high-resolution, real-time picture of global methane emissions ever. Its first mission: to go after oil and gas polluters.
"The more that I look at MethaneSAT the more I realize how radical it is," says Steve Hamburg, EDF chief scientist. "We will be able to say how much is being emitted from the oil gas industry; how it varies over space and how it changes over time; and we're going to be able to do that free of charge. That’s a game-changer."
You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure
Until recently, Hamburg says, researchers have had a relatively poor understanding of where methane is really coming from. "We say we have a climate crisis, and we're spending billions on remote sensing and billions on transforming our systems, but we're doing that without the high quality data we need," he explains.
In other words, you can't manage what you don't measure. And that's a major problem with methane, which is invisible to human senses but, according to NOAA, is responsible for almost a third of global warming. The tech on board MethaneSAT eclipses that of existing platforms: European Space Agency's Sentinel 5P satellite, for example, offers a maximum resolution of 7 kilometers by 5.5 kilometers (4 x 3.4 miles). MethaneSAT, by comparison, can observe areas as small as 100 by 400 meters (328 x 1312 feet). That means observers will be able to pick out exactly what facilities are emitting how much gas.
"Satellites are good at getting accurate measurements of the really big methane events that other technologies would have trouble with," says Jasmine Cooper, a research associate with the Sustainable Gas Institute at London’s Imperial College, who specializes in emissions research. "They're really useful in that they can quantify all of the emissions in a given area."
Despite its impact as a greenhouse gas, Cooper says methane wasn't a major priority for policymakers until the 2015 Paris Agreement, under which countries agreed to begin limiting their emissions. From that point on, governments began paying more attention to the "non-CO2" pollutants, which Cooper describes as "the low-hanging fruit in terms of meeting emissions targets and reaching temperature goals.”
Methane comes from a wide range of sources, from natural ones, such as permafrost and swamps, to agriculture and the oil and gas industry. The widespread and diffuse nature of these emissions is part of what makes them so difficult to track.
A rendering of MethaneSAT, which launched Monday. The satellite is capable of observing methane ... [+]
But while farming—in particular cattle farming—generates the most methane (some 40%), oil, gas and coal (at 36%) are considered to be the sources over which humans have the most control, not least because those operations already have the equipment to capture and profit from that gas. So it's here that much of the initial effort to crack down on methane will be concentrated.
Unlikely Advocates?
Perhaps surprisingly, some big players in the oil and gas industry have welcomed the arrival of MethaneSAT.
"These developments and the launch of these new satellites is something that's welcome within the industry, because at the end of the day it advances our understanding of emissions and the industry’s relative contribution," says Matthew Todd, a director at American Petroleum Institute. "What’s important for the industry to continue to make progress is having actionable data that informs what you do at your well sites and gas plants."
Todd explains that having accurate data on where leaks are occurring is a big help when it comes to complying with state and national regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced its first methane-specific regulations for the oil and gas industry in 2012, but has now overhauled the rules with the aim of preventing some 58 million tons of methane emissions between 2024 and 2038.
But as it happens, capturing methane gas, which in some parts of the world continues to command record prices, is also good for business.
"This is our product, at the end of the day," Todd says. "So our priority is, from both an environmental perspective and a business perspective, to do our best to prevent these emissions."
Data For The People
But MethaneSAT’s founders say the platform offers a great deal more potential than simply keeping an eye on oil and gas producers, and say the satellite will revolutionize approaches to climate action by making the data freely available to all.
While some satellite programs offer much of their raw data free of charge, people and organizations must rely on specialist companies that can make sense of those data. Such services can cost tens of thousands of dollars, putting them out of reach of researchers—not to mention the general public.
By contrast, EDF says Google's support will mean MethaneSAT's findings will be made available far more rapidly, and at no cost.
"MethaneSAT providing free information to the public is a very good move," says Hilda Nakabuye, the Ugandan climate activist who founded Uganda's Fridays for Future movement. "One of the things that limits both climate action and climate education is a lack of access to information. When information or research are availed to the public free of charge, it helps inform the actions they take."
One of Nakabuye’s roles is to explain to ordinary Ugandans the role climate change is playing in the increasingly frequent crises seen in the country, with both droughts and flooding killing thousands. Uganda is illustrative of a pattern seen across central Africa, where the countries that did the least to cause climate change are already suffering some of its most brutal impacts.
"As campaigners, we know there’s a big gap between the knowledge of scientists and the awareness of the public on climate change," Nakabuye says. "Our role is to bridge that gap and explain what’s happening in a way that’s easy to understand."
Academics and researchers who look at methane are also looking forward to a potential trove of new data being made available. "If you have free data, we as academics would love that," Cooper tells me, noting that the services offered by other satellite platforms are simply unaffordable for many research departments. "Making these data free to non-industry groups is very important."
