NASA EMIT Mission Sensors, Carbon Mapper to Work in Hand Detecting Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Landfills

The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission, developed by NASA, is designed to study the impact of dust on the climate. It is also capable of identifying the emission of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. The mission is to collect data on the concentration of key minerals in desert regions, which are known to produce large amounts of dust. This information will help scientists better understand the role of dust in the climate system. EMIT's ability to detect methane emissions is an important additional function of the mission.

Carbon Mapper, a nonprofit group, plans to use data from the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission and other NASA instruments and future satellite technology to detect methane emissions at waste sites around the world. Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for a significant portion of human-induced climate change, is often released from landfills and other solid waste sites.

The multiyear survey, which will include observations from EMIT and other NASA instruments, aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of methane emissions from waste sites and help policymakers develop strategies to reduce the concentration of the gas in the atmosphere and mitigate climate change.

Identified 'Super-Emitter' Regions

The EMIT mission, launched on the International Space Station in July, has identified over 50 "super-emitters" of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Southwestern United States. Super-emitters are sources of methane emissions, such as equipment and infrastructure in the agriculture, fossil fuel, or waste sectors, that release the gas at high rates.

Reducing methane emissions is crucial for mitigating global warming. The EMIT mission will not only help researchers locate the sources of methane leaks but also provide insight into how to address them efficiently, according to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. The International Space Station and NASA's satellites and instruments in space have long been used to monitor changes in the Earth's climate, and EMIT is proving to be a valuable tool in measuring and controlling methane emissions.

The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission uses an imaging spectrometer to detect methane emissions with high accuracy and precision. The spectrometer can distinguish methane by its unique spectral fingerprint and the pattern of infrared light it absorbs. The instrument is also capable of measuring carbon dioxide.

EMIT's observations are made possible by the wide coverage of the planet provided by the International Space Station's orbit and the instrument's ability to scan large areas of Earth's surface, resolving details as small as a soccer field. Currently, limited data about the global methane gas emissions from the international waste sector is available. Carbon Mapper plans to address this issue through a comprehensive survey of methane emissions from worldwide waste sites.

Methane from the waste sector makes up about 20% of human-caused methane emissions. A new project from a nonprofit group, Carbon Mapper, will use NASA instruments and data to measure emissions from landfills around the globe.

(Photo: Daniel Jędzura / Adobe Stock)
Methane from the waste sector makes up about 20% of human-caused methane emissions. A new project from a nonprofit group, Carbon Mapper, will use NASA instruments and data to measure emissions from landfills around the globe.

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Collecting Landfill Emission Data

The organization will use data from the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission and other NASA instruments and satellite technology to detect methane emissions at these sites. The project, funded by the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, will involve an initial remote-sensing survey of over 1,000 landfills in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Africa, and Asia in 2023.

To collect data from these regions, researchers will use aircraft-based sensors, including the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer-Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) and the Global Airborne Observatory from the Center of Global Discovery and Conservation Science, which both use imaging spectrometers developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Carbon Mapper CEO Riley Duren stated that a comprehensive understanding of high-emission point sources from waste sites is crucial for mitigating methane emissions and that new technology that makes these emissions visible and actionable can significantly improve our understanding of opportunities to reduce methane in this sector.

EMIT, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was installed on the International Space Station in July 2022 to measure the mineral content of Earth's major dust-producing regions. In October, scientists discovered that EMIT could also identify methane plumes from "super-emitters," adding another tool to NASA's efforts to monitor greenhouse gasses. According to Robert Green, EMIT's principal investigator at JPL, JPL has a long history of using airborne imaging spectrometers to observe methane emissions from point sources accurately. With EMIT, we have applied the same technology in a spaceborne instrument, allowing us to collect information on localized methane sources from orbit.

After the first year of the Carbon Mapper project, researchers will conduct a wider survey of over 10,000 landfills worldwide using two satellites in the Carbon Mapper satellite program. These spacecraft will be equipped with imaging spectrometer technology developed at JPL and are scheduled to launch in late 2023 in collaboration with Planet Labs PBC and other partners. The data collected by the project will be accessible through the Carbon Mapper Data Portal.