Articles | Volume 25, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4035-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4035-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
09 Apr 2025
Research article |
| 09 Apr 2025
| 09 Apr 2025
A data-efficient deep transfer learning framework for methane super-emitter detection in oil and gas fields using the Sentinel-2 satellite
Shutao Zhao
College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310058, China
Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310024, China
Yuzhong Zhang
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310024, China
Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310024, China
Shuang Zhao
Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310024, China
Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310024, China
Xinlu Wang
College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310058, China
Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310024, China
Daniel J. Varon
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
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Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2777–2787, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2777-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2777-2024, 2024
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Daniel J. Varon, Daniel J. Jacob, Benjamin Hmiel, Ritesh Gautam, David R. Lyon, Mark Omara, Melissa Sulprizio, Lu Shen, Drew Pendergrass, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Zachary R. Barkley, Natasha L. Miles, Scott J. Richardson, Kenneth J. Davis, Sudhanshu Pandey, Xiao Lu, Alba Lorente, Tobias Borsdorff, Joannes D. Maasakkers, and Ilse Aben
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Javier Gorroño, Daniel J. Varon, Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate, and Luis Guanter
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 89–107, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-89-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-89-2023, 2023
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Zhan Zhang, Evan D. Sherwin, Daniel J. Varon, and Adam R. Brandt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7155–7169, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7155-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7155-2022, 2022
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This work developed a multi-band–multi-pass–multi-comparison-date Sentinel-2 methane retrieval algorithm, and the method was calibrated by data from a controlled release test. To our knowledge, this is the first study that validates the performance of a Sentinel-2 methane detection algorithm by calibration with a ground-truth testing. It illustrates the potential for additional validation with systematic future experiments wherein algorithms can be tuned to meet different detection expectations.
Lu Shen, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Daniel Zavala-Araiza, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Tia R. Scarpelli, Alba Lorente, David Lyon, Jianxiong Sheng, Daniel J. Varon, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Xiao Lu, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Steven P. Hamburg, and Daniel J. Jacob
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We use 22 months of TROPOMI satellite observations to quantity methane emissions from the oil (O) and natural gas (G) sector in the US and Canada at the scale of both individual basins as well as country-wide aggregates. We find that O/G-related methane emissions are underestimated in these inventories by 80 % for the US and 40 % for Canada, and 70 % of the underestimate in the US is from five O/G basins, including Permian, Haynesville, Anadarko, Eagle Ford, and Barnett.
Zichong Chen, Daniel J. Jacob, Hannah Nesser, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Alba Lorente, Daniel J. Varon, Xiao Lu, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Elise Penn, and Xueying Yu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10809–10826, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10809-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10809-2022, 2022
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We quantify methane emissions in China and contributions from different sectors by inverse analysis of 2019 TROPOMI satellite observations of atmospheric methane. We find that anthropogenic methane emissions for China are underestimated in the national inventory. Our estimate of emissions indicates a small life-cycle loss rate, implying net climate benefits from the current
coal-to-gasenergy transition in China. However, this small loss rate can be misleading given China's high gas imports.
Zhenqi Luo, Yuzhong Zhang, Wei Chen, Martin Van Damme, Pierre-François Coheur, and Lieven Clarisse
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10375–10388, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10375-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10375-2022, 2022
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We quantify global ammonia (NH3) emissions over the period from 2008 to 2018 using an improved fast top-down method that incorporates Infrared Atmospheric
Sounding Interferometer (IASI) satellite observations and GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemical simulations. The top-down analysis finds a global total NH3 emission that is 30 % higher than the bottom-up estimate, largely reconciling a large discrepancy of more than a factor of 2 found in previous top-down studies using the same satellite data.
Daniel J. Jacob, Daniel J. Varon, Daniel H. Cusworth, Philip E. Dennison, Christian Frankenberg, Ritesh Gautam, Luis Guanter, John Kelley, Jason McKeever, Lesley E. Ott, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Qu, Andrew K. Thorpe, John R. Worden, and Riley M. Duren
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9617–9646, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9617-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9617-2022, 2022
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We review the capability of satellite observations of atmospheric methane to quantify methane emissions on all scales. We cover retrieval methods, precision requirements, inverse methods for inferring emissions, source detection thresholds, and observations of system completeness. We show that current instruments already enable quantification of regional and national emissions including contributions from large point sources. Coverage and resolution will increase significantly in coming years.
Daniel J. Varon, Daniel J. Jacob, Melissa Sulprizio, Lucas A. Estrada, William B. Downs, Lu Shen, Sarah E. Hancock, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Elise Penn, Zichong Chen, Xiao Lu, Alba Lorente, Ashutosh Tewari, and Cynthia A. Randles
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 5787–5805, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5787-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5787-2022, 2022
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Reducing atmospheric methane emissions is critical to slow near-term climate change. Globally surveying satellite instruments like the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) have unique capabilities for monitoring atmospheric methane around the world. Here we present a user-friendly cloud-computing tool that enables researchers and stakeholders to quantify methane emissions across user-selected regions of interest using TROPOMI satellite observations.
John R. Worden, Daniel H. Cusworth, Zhen Qu, Yi Yin, Yuzhong Zhang, A. Anthony Bloom, Shuang Ma, Brendan K. Byrne, Tia Scarpelli, Joannes D. Maasakkers, David Crisp, Riley Duren, and Daniel J. Jacob
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6811–6841, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6811-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6811-2022, 2022
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This paper is intended to accomplish two goals: 1) describe a new algorithm by which remotely sensed measurements of methane or other tracers can be used to not just quantify methane fluxes, but also attribute these fluxes to specific sources and regions and characterize their uncertainties, and 2) use this new algorithm to provide methane emissions by sector and country in support of the global stock take.
Elena Sánchez-García, Javier Gorroño, Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate, Daniel J. Varon, and Luis Guanter
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1657–1674, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1657-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1657-2022, 2022
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This study seeks to present the as-yet-unknown potential use of WorldView-3 for the mapping of methane point source emissions. The proposed retrieval methodology is based on the idea that the spectral channels not affected by methane can be used to predict the methane-affected band through regression analysis. The results show the precise location of 26 independent point emissions over different methane hotspot regions worldwide, which prove the game-changing potential that this mission entails.
Tia R. Scarpelli, Daniel J. Jacob, Shayna Grossman, Xiao Lu, Zhen Qu, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Yuzhong Zhang, Frances Reuland, Deborah Gordon, and John R. Worden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3235–3249, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3235-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3235-2022, 2022
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We present a spatially explicit version of the national inventories of oil, gas, and coal methane emissions as submitted by individual countries to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2021. We then use atmospheric modeling to compare our inventory emissions to atmospheric methane observations with the goal of identifying potential under- and overestimates of oil–gas methane emissions in the national inventories.
Xiao Lu, Daniel J. Jacob, Haolin Wang, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Yuzhong Zhang, Tia R. Scarpelli, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Hannah Nesser, A. Anthony Bloom, Shuang Ma, John R. Worden, Shaojia Fan, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, Ritesh Gautam, Deborah Gordon, Michael D. Moran, Frances Reuland, Claudia A. Octaviano Villasana, and Arlyn Andrews
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 395–418, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-395-2022, 2022
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We evaluate methane emissions and trends for 2010–2017 in the gridded national emission inventories for the United States, Canada, and Mexico by inversion of in situ and satellite methane observations. We find that anthropogenic methane emissions for all three countries are underestimated in the national inventories, largely driven by oil emissions. Anthropogenic methane emissions in the US peak in 2014, in contrast to the report of a steadily decreasing trend over 2010–2017 from the US EPA.
Zhen Qu, Daniel J. Jacob, Lu Shen, Xiao Lu, Yuzhong Zhang, Tia R. Scarpelli, Hannah Nesser, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Joannes D. Maasakkers, A. Anthony Bloom, John R. Worden, Robert J. Parker, and Alba L. Delgado
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14159–14175, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14159-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14159-2021, 2021
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The recent launch of TROPOMI offers an unprecedented opportunity to quantify the methane budget from a top-down perspective. We use TROPOMI and the more mature GOSAT methane observations to estimate methane emissions and get consistent global budgets. However, TROPOMI shows biases over regions where surface albedo is small and provides less information for the coarse-resolution inversion due to the larger error correlations and spatial variations in the number of observations.
Hannah Nesser, Daniel J. Jacob, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Tia R. Scarpelli, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Yuzhong Zhang, and Chris H. Rycroft
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5521–5534, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5521-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5521-2021, 2021
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Analytical inversions of satellite observations of atmospheric composition can improve emissions estimates and quantify errors but are computationally expensive at high resolutions. We propose two methods to decrease this cost. The methods reproduce a high-resolution inversion at a quarter of the cost. The reduced-dimension method creates a multiscale grid. The reduced-rank method solves the inversion where information content is highest.
David R. Lyon, Benjamin Hmiel, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Katherine A. Roberts, Zachary R. Barkley, Kenneth J. Davis, Natasha L. Miles, Vanessa C. Monteiro, Scott J. Richardson, Stephen Conley, Mackenzie L. Smith, Daniel J. Jacob, Lu Shen, Daniel J. Varon, Aijun Deng, Xander Rudelis, Nikhil Sharma, Kyle T. Story, Adam R. Brandt, Mary Kang, Eric A. Kort, Anthony J. Marchese, and Steven P. Hamburg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6605–6626, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6605-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6605-2021, 2021
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The Permian Basin (USA) is the world’s largest oil field. We use tower- and aircraft-based approaches to measure how methane emissions in the Permian Basin changed throughout 2020. In early 2020, 3.3 % of the region’s gas was emitted; then in spring 2020, the loss rate temporarily dropped to 1.9 % as oil price crashed. We find this short-term reduction to be a result of reduced well development, less gas flaring, and fewer abnormal events despite minimal reductions in oil and gas production.
Daniel J. Varon, Dylan Jervis, Jason McKeever, Ian Spence, David Gains, and Daniel J. Jacob
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2771–2785, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2771-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2771-2021, 2021
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Satellites can detect methane emissions by measuring sunlight reflected from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Here we show that the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 twin satellites can be used to monitor anomalously large methane point sources around the world, with global coverage every 2–5 days and 20 m spatial resolution. We demonstrate this previously unreported capability through high-frequency Sentinel-2 monitoring of two strong methane point sources in Algeria and Turkmenistan.
Xiao Lu, Daniel J. Jacob, Yuzhong Zhang, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Tia R. Scarpelli, Hannah Nesser, Robert M. Yantosca, Jianxiong Sheng, Arlyn Andrews, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, A. Anthony Bloom, and Shuang Ma
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4637–4657, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4637-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4637-2021, 2021
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We use an analytical solution to the Bayesian inverse problem to quantitatively compare and combine the information from satellite and in situ observations, and to estimate global methane budget and their trends over the 2010–2017 period. We find that satellite and in situ observations are to a large extent complementary in the inversion for estimating global methane budget, and reveal consistent corrections of regional anthropogenic and wetland methane emissions relative to the prior inventory.
Joannes D. Maasakkers, Daniel J. Jacob, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Tia R. Scarpelli, Hannah Nesser, Jianxiong Sheng, Yuzhong Zhang, Xiao Lu, A. Anthony Bloom, Kevin W. Bowman, John R. Worden, and Robert J. Parker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4339–4356, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4339-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4339-2021, 2021
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We use 2010–2015 GOSAT satellite observations of atmospheric methane over North America in a high-resolution inversion to estimate methane emissions. We find general consistency with the gridded EPA inventory but higher oil and gas production emissions, with oil production emissions twice as large as in the latest EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventory. We find lower wetland emissions than predicted by WetCHARTs and a small increasing trend in the eastern US, apparently related to unconventional oil/gas.
Dylan Jervis, Jason McKeever, Berke O. A. Durak, James J. Sloan, David Gains, Daniel J. Varon, Antoine Ramier, Mathias Strupler, and Ewan Tarrant
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2127–2140, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2127-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2127-2021, 2021
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We describe how the GHGSat-D demonstration satellite is designed and operated in order to measure greenhouse gas emissions from different types of industrial facilities. The distinguishing features of GHGSat-D, or
Claire, are its compact size (< 15 kg) and high spatial resolution (< 50 m). We give a mathematical model of the instrument and describe the techniques used to infer a methane concentration from a measurement of the sunlight that has reflected off the Earth's surface.
Yuzhong Zhang, Daniel J. Jacob, Xiao Lu, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Tia R. Scarpelli, Jian-Xiong Sheng, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Jinfeng Chang, A. Anthony Bloom, Shuang Ma, John Worden, Robert J. Parker, and Hartmut Boesch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3643–3666, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3643-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3643-2021, 2021
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We use 2010–2018 satellite observations of atmospheric methane to interpret the factors controlling atmospheric methane and its accelerating increase during the period. The 2010–2018 increase in global methane emissions is driven by tropical and boreal wetlands and tropical livestock (South Asia, Africa, Brazil), with an insignificant positive trend in emissions from the fossil fuel sector. The peak methane growth rates in 2014–2015 are also contributed by low OH and high fire emissions.
Shaojie Song, Tao Ma, Yuzhong Zhang, Lu Shen, Pengfei Liu, Ke Li, Shixian Zhai, Haotian Zheng, Meng Gao, Jonathan M. Moch, Fengkui Duan, Kebin He, and Michael B. McElroy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 457–481, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-457-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-457-2021, 2021
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We simulate the atmospheric chemical processes of an important sulfur-containing organic aerosol species, which is produced by the reaction between sulfur dioxide and formaldehyde. We can predict its distribution on a global scale. We find it is particularly rich in East Asia. This aerosol species is more abundant in the colder season partly because of weaker sunlight.
Meng Gao, Jinhui Gao, Bin Zhu, Rajesh Kumar, Xiao Lu, Shaojie Song, Yuzhong Zhang, Beixi Jia, Peng Wang, Gufran Beig, Jianlin Hu, Qi Ying, Hongliang Zhang, Peter Sherman, and Michael B. McElroy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4399–4414, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4399-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4399-2020, 2020
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A regional fully coupled meteorology–chemistry model, Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem), was employed to study the seasonality of ozone (O3) pollution and its sources in both China and India.
Aoxing Zhang, Yuhang Wang, Yuzhong Zhang, Rodney J. Weber, Yongjia Song, Ziming Ke, and Yufei Zou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1901–1920, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1901-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1901-2020, 2020
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Black carbon (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) are light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols. We developed a module to simulate the emissions, atmospheric processing and direct radiative effect of BrC in the Community Earth System Model (CESM). We found that globally BrC is a significant absorber and is more centered in the tropical free troposphere compared to BC. The contribution of BrC heating to the Hadley circulation and latitudinal expansion of the tropics is comparable to BC heating.
Daniel H. Cusworth, Daniel J. Jacob, Daniel J. Varon, Christopher Chan Miller, Xiong Liu, Kelly Chance, Andrew K. Thorpe, Riley M. Duren, Charles E. Miller, David R. Thompson, Christian Frankenberg, Luis Guanter, and Cynthia A. Randles
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5655–5668, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5655-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5655-2019, 2019
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We examine the potential for global detection of methane plumes from individual point sources with the new generation of spaceborne imaging spectrometers scheduled for launch in 2019–2025. We perform methane retrievals on simulated scenes with varying surfaces and atmospheric methane concentrations. Our results suggest that imaging spectrometers in space could play a transformative role in the future for quantifying methane emissions from point sources on a global scale.
Shixian Zhai, Daniel J. Jacob, Xuan Wang, Lu Shen, Ke Li, Yuzhong Zhang, Ke Gui, Tianliang Zhao, and Hong Liao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11031–11041, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11031-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11031-2019, 2019
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Observed annual mean PM2.5 decreased by 30–50 % in China from 2013–2018. However, meteorologically PM2.5 variability complicates trend attribution. We used a stepwise multiple linear regression model to quantitatively separate contributions from anthropogenic emissions and meteorology. Results show that 88 % of the PM2.5 decrease across China is attributable to anthropogenic emission changes, and 12 % is attributable to meteorology.
Joannes D. Maasakkers, Daniel J. Jacob, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Tia R. Scarpelli, Hannah Nesser, Jian-Xiong Sheng, Yuzhong Zhang, Monica Hersher, A. Anthony Bloom, Kevin W. Bowman, John R. Worden, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, and Robert J. Parker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 7859–7881, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7859-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7859-2019, 2019
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We use 2010–2015 satellite observations of atmospheric methane to improve estimates of methane emissions and their trends, as well as the concentration and trend of tropospheric OH (hydroxyl radical, methane's main sink). We find overestimates of Chinese coal and Middle East oil/gas emissions in the prior estimate. The 2010–2015 growth in methane is attributed to an increase in emissions from India, China, and areas with large tropical wetlands. The contribution from OH is small in comparison.
Shaojie Song, Meng Gao, Weiqi Xu, Yele Sun, Douglas R. Worsnop, John T. Jayne, Yuzhong Zhang, Lei Zhu, Mei Li, Zhen Zhou, Chunlei Cheng, Yibing Lv, Ying Wang, Wei Peng, Xiaobin Xu, Nan Lin, Yuxuan Wang, Shuxiao Wang, J. William Munger, Daniel J. Jacob, and Michael B. McElroy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1357–1371, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1357-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1357-2019, 2019
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Chemistry responsible for sulfate production in northern China winter haze remains mysterious. We propose a potentially key pathway through the reaction of formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide that has not been accounted for in previous studies. The special atmospheric conditions favor the formation and existence of their complex, hydroxymethanesulfonate (HMS).
Jian-Xiong Sheng, Daniel J. Jacob, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Yuzhong Zhang, and Melissa P. Sulprizio
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6379–6388, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6379-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6379-2018, 2018
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We conduct Observing System Simulation Experiments to compare the ability of future satellite measurements of atmospheric methane columns for constraining methane emissions at the 25 km scale. We find that the geostationary instruments can do much better than TROPOMI and are less sensitive to cloud cover. GeoCARB observing twice a day would provide 70 % of the information from the nominal GEO-CAPE mission considered by NASA in response to the Decadal Survey of the US National Research Council.
Yuzhong Zhang, Daniel J. Jacob, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Jian-Xiong Sheng, Ritesh Gautam, and John Worden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 15959–15973, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15959-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15959-2018, 2018
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We assess the potential of using satellite observations of atmospheric methane to monitor global mean tropospheric OH concentration, a key parameter for the oxidizing power of the atmosphere.
Daniel J. Varon, Daniel J. Jacob, Jason McKeever, Dylan Jervis, Berke O. A. Durak, Yan Xia, and Yi Huang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5673–5686, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5673-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5673-2018, 2018
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Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas emitted from numerous human activities. Space-based observation of point sources would be a cost-effective monitoring solution, but the resolution of most current and planned methane-observing satellites is too coarse to resolve individual emitters. We simulate fine-resolution (50 m) satellite observations of methane plumes as would be measured by GHGSat (to be launched in 2019) and show that such data can usefully quantify large methane point sources.
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Research Activity: Machine Learning | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Machine learning for improvement of upper-tropospheric relative humidity in ERA5 weather model data
Constraining biospheric carbon dioxide fluxes by combined top-down and bottom-up approaches
Quantifying the drivers of surface ozone anomalies in the urban areas over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Ziming Wang, Luca Bugliaro, Klaus Gierens, Michaela I. Hegglin, Susanne Rohs, Andreas Petzold, Stefan Kaufmann, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2845–2861, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2845-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2845-2025, 2025
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Upper-tropospheric relative humidity bias in the ERA5 weather model is corrected by 10 % by an artificial neural network using aircraft in-service humidity data and thermodynamic and dynamical variables. The improved skills of the weather model will advance cirrus research, weather forecasts, and measures for contrail reduction.
Samuel Upton, Markus Reichstein, Fabian Gans, Wouter Peters, Basil Kraft, and Ana Bastos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2555–2582, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2555-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2555-2024, 2024
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Data-driven eddy-covariance upscaled estimates of the global land–atmosphere net CO2 exchange (NEE) show important mismatches with regional and global estimates based on atmospheric information. To address this, we create a model with a dual constraint based on bottom-up eddy-covariance data and top-down atmospheric inversion data. Our model overcomes shortcomings of each approach, producing improved NEE estimates from local to global scale, helping to reduce uncertainty in the carbon budget.
Hao Yin, Youwen Sun, Justus Notholt, Mathias Palm, Chunxiang Ye, and Cheng Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14401–14419, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14401-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14401-2022, 2022
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Improved knowledge of the chemistry and drivers of surface ozone over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is significant for regulatory and control purposes in this high-altitude region in the Himalayas. Our study investigates the processes and drivers of surface ozone anomalies by using machine-learning model-based meteorological normalization methods between 2015 and 2020 in urban areas over the QTP. This study can provide valuable implication for ozone mitigation over the QTP.
Cited articles
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Short summary
We target the challenge of detecting methane super-emitters in oil and gas fields, which is critical for mitigating climate change. Traditional satellite-based detectors struggle due to interference from complex surfaces. We developed a novel method using deep transfer learning that improves detection efficiency and accuracy by reducing artifacts and adapting methane knowledge to different regions. Application revealed significant methane emissions, demonstrating the potential of our method.
We target the challenge of detecting methane super-emitters in oil and gas fields, which is...
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