Methane: a driver of current climate change
SRON’s role in monitoring methane
Despite its seemingly low concentration in the atmosphere of less than 0.0002%, methane (CH4) is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, due to its high global warming potential. Over a period of a hundred years, methane is about thirty times more powerful than CO2. The 2021 IPCC report indicates a 0.28oC contribution to the total global warming of 1.1oC since pre-industrial times. Together with other Dutch partners, SRON has developed key technology for the TROPOMI instrument on the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor mission. SRON is responsible for the CH4 data product and uses this data to estimate methane emissions worldwide. We specifically target super-emitters, for example some landfills or fossil fuel facilities. These have the potential to be the low-hanging fruit in efforts to mitigate global warming. SRON also develops the targeted TANGO mission to observe localized methane emission sources, together with our Dutch partners: ISIS Space, TNO, and KNMI.
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projects
TROPOMI
The Dutch Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) is flying onboard the Copernicus Sentinel-5p mission, launched in 2017. Every day it scans the entire globe for e.g. methane and carbon monoxide concentrations at city-scale level.
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projects
TANGO
The Twin Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas Observers (TANGO) comprises two cubesats: TANGO-Carbon and TANGO-Nitro. It is a candidate mission of ESA’s SCOUT program to be launched in 2026.
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projects
Impact Plan ML
We use machine learning techniques to detect methane plumes in satellite data. The first project focused on detection of methane plumes in TROPOMI data.
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projects
IMEO MARS
The United Nations International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) is setting up a Methane Alert Response System (MARS) to support governments and businesses to reduce their methane emissions as promised under the Methane Pledge.
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projects
Targeting Waste Emissions Observed from Space
Emissions from landfills are responsible for about 11% of global human-made methane emissions. We have recently demonstrated we can detect and quantify large landfill methane emissions from space by using a combination of satellites.
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projects
CCAC Methane Studies
CCAC Methane Studies is a project to estimate methane emissions from oil & gas fields using TROPOMI (and other) satellite data.
Recent methane news
News
1 augustus 2023
News
Satellite supergroup spots methane super-emitters
11 november 2022
News
SRON participates in UN satellite-based global methane detection system
8 november 2022
News
The Global Methane Hub, SRON and GHGSat Launch World-first Project to Map Super-Emitting Landfills Globally
Methane Plume Map
TropomiTROPOMI aboard Sentinel-5p can be used to detect large methane emission plumes everywhere around the world. These plumes are automatically detected using the machine-learning setup described in Schuit et al. (2023, ACPD preprint). The weekly world maps show approximate source locations based on single TROPOMI plumes as well as initial source rate estimates based on an automated mass balance method.
Interactive TROPOMI carbon monoxide / methane map
Meet our partners
We collaborate with climate researchers and modelers, and together contribute to the development of physical instruments and the promotion of scientific activities outside SRON.
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ESA
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ISISspace
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KNMI
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TNO
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VU
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WUR
Our other research themes
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CO₂
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Most important human-made greenhouse gas
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Hard to monitor emissions because of long lifetime
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Carbon Monoxide
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Reactions with atmospheric gases contribute to global warming
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Trace gas to calculate CO₂ emissions from forest fires
- One of the most important air pollutants
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Aerosols and Clouds
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Small particles in the atmosphere
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Largest unknown factor in climate change
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Strong impact on air quality
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