MethaneSAT: Towards detecting agricultural emissions from space
Sara E Mikaloff-Fletcher, NIWA, sara.mikaloff-fletcher@niwa.co.nz (Presenter)
Anne-Gaelle Ausseil, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, aussiela@landcareresearch.co.nz
Gordon Brailsford, NIWA, gordon.brailsford@niwa.co.nz
Beata Bukosa, NIWA, beata.bukosa@niwa.co.nz
Josh Benmergui, Harvard University, benmergui@fas.harvard.edu
Dave Campbell, University of Waikato, david.campbell@waikato.ac.nz
Jonathan E Franklin, Harvard University, jfranklin@g.harvard.edu
Alex Geddes, NIWA, alex.geddes@niwa.co.nz
Jordan Goodrich, University of Waikato, jordan.goodrich@waikato.ac.nz
Steven Hamburg, Environmental Defense Fund, shamburg@edf.org
Manawa Huirama, NIWA, manawa.huirama@niwa.co.nz
Darren Ngaru King, NIWA, darren.king@niwa.co.nz
Richard Law, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, lawr@landcareresearch.co.nz
Johannes Laubach, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, laubachj@landcareresearch.co.nz
David Noone, University of Auckland, david.noone@auckland.ac.nz
David Pollard, National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, dave.pollard@niwa.co.nz
Jocelyn Turnbull, GNS Science, j.turnbull@gns.cri.nz
Hinrich Schaefer, NIWA, hinrich.schaefer@niwa.co.nz
Louis Schipper, University of Waikato, louis.schipper@waikato.ac.nz
Dan Smale, NIWA, dan.smale@niwa.co.nz
Steven Wofsy, Harvard University, wofsy@g.harvard.edu
The MethaneSAT satellite, scheduled for launch in fall 2022, is a joint American and Aotearoa-New Zealand (Aotearoa-NZ) initiative, involving a partnership between Environmental Defense Fund’s(EDF) subsidiary MethaneSAT LLC, and the New Zealand government. The satellite’s core mission is to catalyze CH4 emission reductions around the world by measuring atmospheric CH4 with unprecedented precision and mapping flux rates. While MethaneSAT was designed to detect emissions from oil and gas infrastructure, we hypothesize that it can also be used to measure more diffuse and thus harder to resolve agricultural methane emissions. We present plans for a research programme to develop and test this capability.
Aotearoa-NZ is the ideal nation-scale laboratory for this research due to its distance from other land areas, its greenhouse gas measurement and modelling capability and its unusual greenhouse gas emission profile. CH4 emissions make up nearly half of its gross emissions budget, and 85% of these emissions are from agriculture. Atmospheric inverse modelling will leverage meteorology from Aotearoa-NZ’s 1.5km resolution numerical weather prediction model and inverse modelling tools being used by the MethaneSAT team. Aotearoa-NZ’s long-running TCCON site at Lauder will be supplemented by observations from two EM27 instruments and aircraft-based vertical profile data.
We will develop a global observation strategy to target agricultural emissions from ruminant animals and rice agriculture. We will also identify a list of priority targets where MethaneSAT has the potential to provide valuable new emission information. Then, we will work with policy and advocacy experts to identify priority targets where mitigation solutions are practical. Thus, our strategy will consider not only where MethaneSAT can quantify emissions with the most accuracy but also where such data will be most beneficial for realizing emission reductions.
Poster: Poster_MikaloffFletcher__157_25.pdf
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 1.2b Results expected from future missions
Session Date: Monday (6/14) 9:45 AM