How GHGSat Delivered the First Independent Data on the Nord Stream Pipeline

How GHGSat Delivered the First Independent Data on the Nord Stream Pipeline

Jun 27 2026 Laure Boinette

Case Study | Government | Critical Infrastructure

Satellite Monitoring Critical Infrastructure: How GHGSat Delivered the First Independent Data on the Nord Stream Disaster

The pipelines were underwater. The site was inaccessible. Conventional monitoring had no answer. GHGSat satellites did within 24 hours. Download the case study to find out exactly what they found and what it means for governments protecting critical energy infrastructure today.

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Satellite Monitoring of Critical Infrastructure Has a Proof Point

On September 26, 2022, explosions destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines beneath the Baltic Sea.

Seismic sensors detected the blasts. Satellite imagery showed gas bubbling to the surface. But neither answered the questions governments needed answered immediately—how much had been released, was the leak still active, and when could anyone confirm it had stopped?

No ground crew could reach the site. No aerial survey was viable. The conventional monitoring playbook had no page for this scenario.

What happened next and how satellite monitoring of critical infrastructure filled the gap that every other approach left open is documented in the case study. The short version: the data reached authorities within 24 hours. The findings were significant enough to be published in Nature.

What You’ll Find in the Case Study

The case study does not speculate. It documents a live incident response using satellite monitoring of critical infrastructure from the moment of detection to independent confirmation of mitigation. Download it to see:

  • The detection methodology GHGSat used over open water and why it had never been applied to an infrastructure incident at this scale before
  • What the satellite data actually showed about the rate, volume, and duration of the release withheld here deliberately, because those numbers tell a story better read in full
  • How three satellites observed the same site within hours of each other and what that cross-validated data made possible for governments coordinating internationally
  • The follow-up pass that confirmed mitigation and what independent confirmation of that kind means for public trust and policy response
  • Why the case study authors concluded that satellite monitoring is now a critical tool for national resilience

Download the Full Case Study

When the Nord Stream pipelines exploded, satellites delivered what ground crews, aerial surveys, and conventional monitoring could not. Download the case study to see exactly how and what it means for protecting critical infrastructure today.

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