Articles | Volume 26, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-11893-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-26-11893-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Aug 2026
Research article |
| 21 Aug 2026
| 21 Aug 2026
Strategic design of methane observation networks to improve emission estimates: A case study in Africa
Hui Li
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Philippe Ciais
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Frédéric Chevallier
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ecological Remediation and Carbon Sequestration, Institute of Environment and Ecology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, Beijing 100084, China
Paul I. Palmer
National Centre for Earth Observation, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK
Frank Hase
Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-ASF), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
Morgan Lopez
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Elsa M. Ordway
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
Shushi Peng
Institute of Carbon Neutrality, Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Peking University, Beijing, China
Danielle Monteverde
Spark Climate Solutions, Covina, CA, 91723, USA
Michel Ramonet
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Jason M. St. Clair
Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
GESTAR-II, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA
Le Bienfaiteur Sagang
Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Benjamin Poulter
Spark Climate Solutions, San Francisco, CA, USA
Data sets
ERA5-Land monthly averaged data from 1950 to present Copernicus Climate Change Service https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.68d2bb30
Model code and software
LMDz transport model F. Chevallier https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14765208
Short summary
We studied how to best place methane monitoring instruments across Africa to better understand where emissions come from. Because observations can overlap in what they detect, adding more sites does not always improve results equally. Using a statistical approach, we identified both the ideal number and locations of sites (ten new sites can reduce emission uncertainty by over 65 % for total African CH4). Our results help guide cost-effective monitoring strategies in regions with limited data.
We studied how to best place methane monitoring instruments across Africa to better understand...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint