Google joins mission to map global methane emissions from space

Google announced Today partnering with the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to map methane pollution and oil and gas infrastructure from space.

Google and EDF hope they’ll be able to figure out where most of those methane emissions are leaking from — which might help stop those leaks. Next month, EDF plans to launch its MethaneSat, a satellite that will track emissions of methane, an even more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Meanwhile, Google is using AI to map oil and gas infrastructure to create a global map of pollution sources.

“Infrastructure changes rapidly, and keeping such a map updated requires constant input. But this is something that we have developed a lot of expertise in our maps and geos organization,” Yael Maguire, vice president and general manager of Google’s geo sustainability team, said on a press call. “We think this information is incredibly valuable to energy companies, researchers, and the public sector to estimate and reduce methane emissions.”

While many government and corporate commitments to combat climate change focus on carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, methane is responsible for 30 percent of global warming Which has happened so far. Methane is the primary component of so-called natural gas, and regularly leaks into supply chains from wells to pipelines and gas appliances. Landfills and livestock are also major sources of methane pollution.

In the first 20 years after entering the atmosphere, methane is 80 times more powerful than CO2 at warming the planet. Fortunately, methane has a much shorter lifetime than carbon dioxide, which can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. Since it is a powerful but short-lived climate pollutant, stopping methane pollution could have a large and immediate impact on climate change.

“Methane is dominating what’s happening in the near term,” EDF chief scientist Steven Hamburg said on a Google press call. “Timing really matters. Because if we reduce those methane emissions really quickly and dramatically, we could significantly reduce the rate of warming in the coming decades.

Research EDF and other groups have shown that many countriesThe amount of methane leaking from oil and gas infrastructure, including in the US, is likely to be greatly underestimated. As a solution, EDF turned to MethaneSat, now a major initiative with many big-name backers. It is building MethaneSat in partnership with the New Zealand Space Agency Country’s first government funded space mission, In 2020, Bezos Earth Fund $100 million gift to EDF To support MethaneSat. The satellite is expected to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket next month.

Orbiting Earth 15 times each day, MethaneSat will survey methane levels in the world’s top oil and gas producing regions. The algorithm, powered by Google Cloud, will allow EDF to track how much methane is emitted over time. EDF is also working with scientists from Harvard and the Smithsonian and their Joint Astrophysics Center on this initiative. EDF has worked with Google before; The company let EDF design its Street View cars With sensors to map leaking methane in 2013.

Now, Google is taking steps to create one of the most detailed maps ever of methane pollution and oil and gas infrastructure. It’s essentially using the same methods used to keep Google Maps up to date to look for sidewalks and street signs in satellite imagery. Instead it is training AI to detect well pads, pump jacks, storage tanks and other fossil fuel infrastructure. This, combined with MethaneSat’s emissions data, could paint a picture of where all this pollution is coming from and potentially prevent some of it. America, the world’s largest gas producer, suffered losses due to leaks alone. 1 percent of its annual gas production – Leakage of 6.5 million metric tons of methane per year.

still plugging those leaks This is not enough to reach global climate goals, Although. Only the transition to clean energy can stop climate change. Google pledged to step down building practice AI tools that help fossil fuel companies extract more oil and gas in 2020, but environmental supporter The company continues to be pressured to drop any existing contracts with fossil fuel companies.

Exact launch details for MethaneSat have not yet been announced. EDF says it should start sharing some of the satellite data later this year, with hopes of getting a more detailed picture next year. “By the end of 2025, we should have a very clear picture on a global scale of all the major oil and gas basins around the world,” Hamburg says.

The data will be made publicly available to researchers and policy makers MethaneSat website And google earth engineThe company’s cloud-based geospatial data platform.