Feasibility study for identifying regional methane sources from space.
With a new generation of satellites, more accurate observations became available for the greenhouse gas methane (CH4). Apart from the measured concentrations, knowledge of the emission strength and location is very important for climate researchers, the energy sector and emission authorities.
At KNMI a fast and accurate inversion technique has already been developed for short-lived gases. The goal of this project is to develop an algorithm for emission estimation of the long-living gas methane. It will address the lower signal-to-noise ratio of these retrievals, and the more important role of the background concentrations due to their long lifetimes. We aim to develop a scientifically state-of-the-art algorithm, capable of identifying emissions of CH4 on a regional scale using observations of TROPOMI on the Sentinel-5p satellite. For analysizing methane emissions in the past we will use SCIAMACHY observations.
Contact: Mengyao Liu (mengyao.liu@knmi.nl) and Ronald van der A (ronald.van.der.a@knmi.nl)
