Articles | Volume 26, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-11893-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-11893-2026
Research article
 | 
21 Aug 2026
Research article |  | 21 Aug 2026

Strategic design of methane observation networks to improve emission estimates: A case study in Africa

Hui Li, Philippe Ciais, Frédéric Chevallier, Bo Zheng, Paul I. Palmer, Frank Hase, Morgan Lopez, Elsa M. Ordway, Shushi Peng, Danielle Monteverde, Michel Ramonet, Jason M. St. Clair, Le Bienfaiteur Sagang, and Benjamin Poulter

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Cited articles

Adame, J. A., Padilla, R., Gutierrez-Alvarez, I., Bogeat, J. A., Lopez, A., and Yela, M.: Greenhouse gases in the tall tower of El Arenosillo station in Southwestern Europe: First-year of measurements, Atmos. Res., 299, 107221, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107221, 2024. 
Chevallier, F.: LMDz transport model, Version 4.2, Zenodo [software], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14765208, 2025. 
Chevallier, F., Martinez, A., Lloret, Z., Takache, S., and Cozic, A.: Offline Atmospheric Transport on a Global Mesh of Hexagons, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 130, e2025JD043579, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JD043579, 2025. 
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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.
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