Satellite Images Reveal Mega-Leaks of Potent Greenhouse Gas

Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases, trapping 28 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Pinpointing methane sources is therefore critical to mitigating climate change, and a new analysis just zeroed in on the 25 oil and gas sites with the largest methane emissions rates worldwide. Researchers with the Stop Methane Project at the University of California, Los Angeles, used data from Carbon Mapper—a non-profit that uses remote sensing technology to pinpoint and quantify methane emissions—to rank these mega-leaks. They’re spread across a small handful of countries, including the U.S., with the majority in Turkmenistan. A whopping 15 of the 25 largest leaks are concentrated in this authoritarian state. “Over a year, a source emitting 5 tonnes of methane per hour (in the middle of the pack of our ‘top 25’ list) would contribute about as much to global warming as one million SUVs or one large (500 megawatt) coal-fired power plant,” a statement from the Stop Methane Project reads. Carbon Mapper’s methane emissions data comes from two Earth observers: Planet Labs’s Tanager-1 satellite and NASA’s EMIT instrument on the International Space Station. Carbon Mappe