Science & Research

A new study used satellite data from MethaneSAT collected across multiple days and regions in the United States, Mexico, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Iraq to quantify and map oil and gas methane emissions at high-resolution. By scanning vast areas in fine detail, researchers found that methane emissions vary not only between regions, but also between counties and districts within the same oil and gas basin. These findings give policymakers a more precise, localized view of emissions hotspots, helping identify where the industry should prioritize repairs to more effectively slow climate warming.

Note: This is a preprint, and we expect the final published version to become available soon.

This study advances MethaneSAT’s ability to automatically detect and segment methane plumes by combining deep learning, cross-sensor transfer learning, and physics-informed postprocessing. By leveraging MethaneAIR observations to overcome limited labeled satellite data, the team developed an instance-segmentation framework that reliably identifies individual methane plumes and supports both high-sensitivity emissions screening and high-confidence source attribution. These improvements strengthen MethaneSAT’s capacity to map methane emissions and provide actionable insights for climate mitigation efforts.

Note: This is a preprint, and we expect the final published version to become available soon.

New analysis of MethaneSAT data reveals that methane leaks from global oil and gas operations are roughly 60% higher than what companies and governments have previously reported. Results from this study show that certain regions in North America, the Middle East, and Central Asia are losing far more natural gas than others, making them prime targets for urgent repairs. Ultimately, current emissions levels are about ten times higher than international climate targets, highlighting a massive gap between current industry practices and global methane mitigation goals.

This study tackles one of the biggest challenges in hyperspectral remote sensing: detecting clouds and cloud shadows. By developing and benchmarking deep learning models, the team significantly improved cloud and shadow segmentation performance for both MethaneSAT and its airborne partner, MethaneAIR. These improvements enhance the reliability of methane retrievals worldwide, strengthening MethaneSAT’s capacity to support actionable climate solutions.

Using TROPOMI and VIIRS satellite instruments to measure nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from 44 major oil and gas regions around the world, the study finds that commonly used emission inventories significantly underestimate NOx emissions from these activities -- in some cases by more than 70% -- meaning a major source of air pollution is being undercounted. It also show that NOx emissions often occur alongside methane emissions, highlighting important links between air quality and climate impacts from oil and gas operations.