Published Research

Reviews how current and upcoming satellites can measure methane emissions, from global scale down to individual facilities. Some satellites, such as GOSAT, TROPOMI, and MethaneSAT track emissions over larger regions and areas, while others like GHGSat can spot large leaks from specific sites. Together, these systems are becoming powerful tools for monitoring methane emissions and supporting climate agreements, with new satellites expected to improve coverage and accuracy even further.

MethaneAIR, the airborne precursor to the MethaneSAT satellite, is designed to detect and quantify methane emissions using two high-resolution imaging spectrometers. This study details the laboratory-based spectral calibration process, including stray light correction, wavelength registration, and the construction of instrument spectral response functions. The resulting calibration was validated using flight data over Colorado, establishing a foundation for MethaneSAT’s future calibration and performance.

Accurate global measurements of CO₂ and methane from space require simultaneous oxygen observations to determine the path length of backscattered sunlight. Although the oxygen singlet Delta (a1Δg) band at 1.27 μm has been considered unusable due to strong atmospheric airglow, this study shows that the airglow signal can be effectively separated from reflected sunlight using limb satellite observations. The findings suggest that using this band could simplify instrument design, lower costs, and improve the accuracy of future missions.