California Methane Source Inventory with 230,000 Facility Entries

Over 230,000 entries form the Vista-CA database, a GIS-based mapping inventory of potential methane-emitting facilities and infrastructure across California. Created by NASA, it synthesizes public data from 2005 to 2019 into fifteen spatial maps. This dataset was developed to address gaps in source inventories and support flight planning for the California Methane Survey.

Use Cases

• Spatial analysis of methane source density and distribution across California regions.
• Cross-referencing facility locations with aerial or satellite methane detection data for source attribution.
• Temporal trend analysis of infrastructure development related to potential emissions from 2005 to 2019.
• Planning airborne survey flight paths over known or suspected emission clusters.

Strengths

• Contains over 230,000 georeferenced entries, providing a detailed spatial inventory.
• Integrates data from multiple local, state, and federal public sources for cross-validation.
• Covers a 15-year time range (2005-2019) for observing infrastructure changes.
• Structured into fifteen thematic maps for specific infrastructure categories.

Limitations

• Specific column names and data schema are not provided by any source, limiting detailed analysis.
• Conflicting last update dates: Data.gov lists 2026-03 12 (likely a metadata error), while NASA Earthdata lists 2019-08-20, suggesting the core data is not recent.
• The license is specified as 'other-license-specified' without detailed terms.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Compiled from an assortment of publicly available data sources from local, state, and federal agencies.

Time Range

2005 to 2019

Freshness

2019-08-20

Geography

State of California, USA