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Satellite Methane Monitoring

How satellites detect methane emissions from gas infrastructure, what public data is available, and what it means for pipeline safety.

What Is Satellite Methane Monitoring?

A new generation of Earth observation satellites can detect methane — the primary component of natural gas — from orbit. By measuring how sunlight interacts with methane molecules in the atmosphere, these satellites create maps of methane concentrations and identify emission sources on the ground.

This technology has transformed methane oversight. Before satellites, detecting emissions required ground-level instruments or aircraft flyovers. Now, persistent global monitoring can identify major leaks that might otherwise go unreported for months or years.

Key Satellite Programs

Several public and commercial programs are actively monitoring methane emissions:

  • MethaneSAT — launched in March 2024 by the Environmental Defense Fund. Designed specifically to map methane emissions at high resolution across oil and gas producing regions. Data is publicly available and intended to support regulatory action.

  • TROPOMI (Sentinel-5P) — operated by the European Space Agency since 2018. Provides daily global methane measurements at roughly 5×7 km resolution. Free data available through the Copernicus Open Access Hub.

  • Carbon Mapper — a coalition including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the state of California, and several philanthropic partners. Launching satellites to detect individual methane point sources (like leaking wells, compressor stations, and pipeline facilities) and publishing the data openly.

  • GHGSat — a commercial company offering high-resolution methane detection. Used by regulators, energy companies, and researchers. Data access is paid, but select findings are published publicly.

What Satellites Can and Can't Detect

It's important to understand the limitations:

What they're good at detecting:

  • Large emissions from oil and gas production sites (well pads, processing plants)
  • Leaks from transmission pipeline compressor stations
  • Landfill methane emissions
  • Coal mine ventilation emissions
  • Regional methane concentration trends

What they typically can't detect:

  • Individual residential gas leaks from distribution lines — these are too small for current satellite resolution
  • Intermittent leaks that only occur briefly
  • Emissions in cloudy or high-aerosol conditions (clouds block the satellite's view)

The PHMSA incident data on our site covers gas distribution incidents — the pipes that deliver gas to homes and businesses. Satellite data primarily covers upstream and midstream emissions — production, processing, and transmission. Together, they provide a more complete picture of methane leakage across the entire gas supply chain.

How This Data Is Used

Satellite methane data is driving real-world action:

  • Regulatory enforcement — the EPA and state regulators use satellite detections to identify unreported emissions and target inspections
  • Super-emitter identification — a small number of facilities are responsible for a disproportionate share of total emissions. Satellites help find them.
  • Corporate accountability — public satellite data makes it harder for companies to underreport their emissions
  • Climate policy — methane is roughly 80 times more potent than CO₂ over a 20-year period. Reducing methane leaks is one of the fastest ways to slow near-term warming.

Explore Public Data

These portals offer free access to satellite methane observations:

  • Carbon Mapper Data Portal — interactive map of detected methane point sources across the United States. You can search by location and see individual plume detections.
  • MethaneSAT Data — emission rate data from MethaneSAT observations, focused on major oil and gas basins.
  • Copernicus Sentinel-5P — global methane concentration data from the TROPOMI instrument. More technical, aimed at researchers.

The Bigger Picture

Satellite monitoring and ground-level incident reporting like the PHMSA data on our site are complementary. Satellites catch the big leaks that go unreported. PHMSA data captures the distribution-level incidents that affect homes and neighborhoods. Neither tells the complete story alone.

You can explore gas distribution incidents on our site and check your utility's safety record for the ground-level view. For the aerial perspective, the public data portals above offer a starting point.