Abstract
The ability to detect and quantify methane emissions from offshore platforms is of considerable interest to provide actionable feedback to industrial operators. While satellites offer a distinctive advantage for remote sensing of offshore platforms which may otherwise be difficult to reach, offshore measurements of methane from satellite instruments in the shortwave-infrared are challenging due to the low levels of diffuse sunlight reflected from water surfaces. Here, we use the 5 GHGSat satellite constellation in a sun glint configuration to detect and quantify methane emissions from offshore targets around the world. We present a variety of examples of offshore methane plumes, including the largest single emission at (84,000±24,000) kg h−1 observed by GHGSat from the Nord Stream 2 pipeline leak in 2022 and the smallest offshore emission measured from space at (180 ± 130) kg h−1 in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, we provide an overview of the constellation’s offshore measurement capabilities. We measure a median column precision of 2.1% of the background methane column density and estimate a detection limit, from analytical modelling and orbital simulations, that varies between 160 kg h−1 10 and 600 kg h−1 depending on the latitude and season.
Access the full paper here: Offshore Methane Detection and Quantification from Space Using Sun Glint Measurements with the GHGSat Constellation
