Articles | Volume 25, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-797-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-797-2025
Research article
 | 
21 Jan 2025
Research article |  | 21 Jan 2025

Satellite quantification of methane emissions from South American countries: a high-resolution inversion of TROPOMI and GOSAT observations

Sarah E. Hancock, Daniel J. Jacob, Zichong Chen, Hannah Nesser, Aaron Davitt, Daniel J. Varon, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Nicholas Balasus, Lucas A. Estrada, María Cazorla, Laura Dawidowski, Sebastián Diez, James D. East, Elise Penn, Cynthia A. Randles, John Worden, Ilse Aben, Robert J. Parker, and Joannes D. Maasakkers

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Integrated Methane Inversion (IMI) 2.0: an improved research and stakeholder tool for monitoring total methane emissions with high resolution worldwide using TROPOMI satellite observations
Lucas A. Estrada, Daniel J. Varon, Melissa Sulprizio, Hannah Nesser, Zichong Chen, Nicholas Balasus, Sarah E. Hancock, Megan He, James D. East, Todd A. Mooring, Alexander Oort Alonso, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Ilse Aben, Sabour Baray, Kevin W. Bowman, John R. Worden, Felipe J. Cardoso-Saldaña, Emily Reidy, and Daniel J. Jacob
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Cited articles

Balasus, N., Jacob, D. J., Lorente, A., Maasakkers, J. D., Parker, R. J., Boesch, H., Chen, Z., Kelp, M. M., Nesser, H., and Varon, D. J.: A blended TROPOMI + GOSAT satellite data product for atmospheric methane using machine learning to correct retrieval biases, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3787–3807, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3787-2023, 2023 (available at https://registry.opendata.aws/blended-tropomi-gosat-methane, last access: 1 January 2024). 
Bannink, A., van Schijndel, M. W., and Dijkstra, J.: A model of enteric fermentation in dairy cows to estimate methane emission for the Dutch National Inventory Report using the IPCC Tier 3 approach, Anim. Feed Sci. Tech., 166–167, 603–618, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2011.04.043, 2011. 
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Bastviken, D., Santoro, A. L., Marotta, H., Pinho, L. Q., Calheiros, D. F., Crill, P., and Enrich-Prast, A.: Methane Emissions from Pantanal, South America, during the Low Water Season: Toward More Comprehensive Sampling, Environ. Sci. Technol., 44, 5450–5455, https://doi.org/10.1021/es1005048, 2010. 
Benaouda, M., González-Ronquillo, M., Appuhamy, J. A. D. R. N., Kebreab, E., Molina, L. T., Herrera-Camacho, J., Ku-Vera, J. C., Ángeles-Hernández, J. C., and Castelán-Ortega, O. A.: Development of mathematical models to predict enteric methane emission by cattle in Latin America, Livestock Science, 241, 104177, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104177, 2020. 
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Short summary
We quantify 2021 methane emissions in South America at up to 25 km × 25 km resolution using satellite methane observations. We find a 55 % upward adjustment to anthropogenic emission inventories, including those reported to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change under the Paris Agreement. Our estimates match inventories for Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay but are much higher for other countries. Livestock emissions (65 % of anthropogenic emissions) show the largest discrepancies.
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