Regional Surveys of CH₄ Point Sources Across North America: Campaigns, Algorithms, and Results

Abstract

The last five years have seen dramatic growth in the use of Visible Shortwave Infrared (VSWIR) and Thermal Infrared (TIR) imaging spectrometers to detect and characterize greenhouse methane sources. Targets include: dairy and animal husbandry emissions; landfills; fossil fuel extraction, storage, and transport infrastructure; geologic sources; natural emissions associated with sensitive arctic ecosystems; and more. These campaigns have resulted in significant new discoveries and advances in our understanding of the North American CH4 budget. Recent algorithm improvements have been critical for these campaigns, enabling robust statistical CH₄ measurement, fully-automated image-space source identification, and quantification of flux. Here we survey recent campaigns by NASA's Next Generation Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS-NG) and NASA's Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES). We describe their algorithmic advances and major findings.