GHGSat Methane Emission Maps and Rates

GHGSat data provides vertical column density measurements for methane emissions over 12 km x 12 km scenes. The archive includes single observations, monthly monitoring, and weekly monitoring data types, processed into abundance datasets, concentration maps, and emission rate estimates. European Space Agency (ESA) distributes this data via NASA's Earthdata platform.

Use Cases

• Detect methane plumes and quantify excess abundances in ppb from the Level 2 abundance dataset GeoTIFFs.
• Estimate instantaneous emission rates and uncertainty for identified sources using Level 4 CSV data and dispersion parameters.
• Monitor site-level methane concentrations over time using the monthly or weekly monitoring data products.
• Create high-readability pseudocolor concentration maps by combining surface reflectance and column density data from Level 2 PNG files.
• Analyze emission trends at specific industrial sites using the <30 meter spatial resolution SWIR band imagery.

Strengths

• Provides three structured data types: Single Observation, Monthly Monitoring (12 per year), and Weekly Monitoring (52 per year).
• Offers multiple analysis-ready products including Level 2 GeoTIFFs/PNGs and Level 4 CSV emission rate estimates.
• Data features high spatial resolution of less than 30 meters per pixel.

Limitations

• Current measurements are limited to methane (CH4), with carbon dioxide (CO2) data noted as future potential.
• Each scene covers a fixed 12 km x 12 km area, which may not capture larger regional emission patterns.
• Level 4 emission rate products are only delivered when an emission is detected within the abundance dataset.

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency (ESA) via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Satellite-based measurements from GHGSat sensors using SWIR bands (1635-1675 nm), with applied radiometric and geometric corrections.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

Global coverage for tasked 12 km x 12 km scenes.