The main culprits are Turkmenistan, which produces plumes over 32 km wide, Iran and New Mexico in the USA.
Earth Surface Mineral Dust Investigation, or “EMIT”, is a space-based spectrometer that measures solar energy reflected by the Earth in hundreds of wavelengths from visible light to infrared.
According to David Thompson, Chief Scientist of the EMIT instrument and Principal Investigator at JPL, this is a unique capability that will enhance efforts to identify methane sources and reduce emissions from human activities.
“As EMIT continues to study the planet, it will observe places where no one had thought to look for greenhouse gas emitters before, and it will find plumes that no one expected.”
Robert Green, EMIT Principal Investigator at JPL.
According to NASA, EMIT could discover hundreds of previously unknown methane super-emitters before the end of its one-year mission. This is a crucial tool in the fight to reduce methane emissions and limit global warming. It will not only help researchers to better determine the origin of methane leaks, but also to find solutions for their rapid remediation.
