scholarly journals Potential of next-generation imaging spectrometers to detect and quantify methane point sources from space

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 5655-5668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel H. Cusworth ◽  
Daniel J. Jacob ◽  
Daniel J. Varon ◽  
Christopher Chan Miller ◽  
Xiong Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Resolution ◽  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Optimal Estimation ◽  
Estimation Algorithm ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Pixel Resolution ◽  
Imaging Spectrometer

Abstract. We examine the potential for global detection of methane plumes from individual point sources with the new generation of spaceborne imaging spectrometers (EnMAP, PRISMA, EMIT, SBG, CHIME) scheduled for launch in 2019–2025. These instruments are designed to map the Earth's surface at high spatial resolution (30 m×30 m) and have a spectral resolution of 7–10 nm in the 2200–2400 nm band that should also allow useful detection of atmospheric methane. We simulate scenes viewed by EnMAP (10 nm spectral resolution, 180 signal-to-noise ratio) using the EnMAP end-to-end simulation tool with superimposed methane plumes generated by large-eddy simulations. We retrieve atmospheric methane and surface reflectivity for these scenes using the IMAP-DOAS optimal estimation algorithm. We find an EnMAP precision of 3 %–7 % for atmospheric methane depending on surface type. This allows effective single-pass detection of methane point sources as small as 100 kg h−1 depending on surface brightness, surface homogeneity, and wind speed. Successful retrievals over very heterogeneous surfaces such as an urban mosaic require finer spectral resolution. We tested the EnMAP capability with actual plume observations over oil/gas fields in California from the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer – Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) sensor (3 m×3 m pixel resolution, 5 nm spectral resolution, SNR 200–400), by spectrally and spatially downsampling the AVIRIS-NG data to match EnMAP instrument specifications. Results confirm that EnMAP can successfully detect point sources of ∼100 kg h−1 over bright surfaces. Source rates inferred with a generic integrated mass enhancement (IME) algorithm were lower for EnMAP than for AVIRIS-NG. Better agreement may be achieved with a more customized IME algorithm. Our results suggest that imaging spectrometers in space could play an important role in the future for quantifying methane emissions from point sources worldwide.

scholarly journals Potential of next-generation imaging spectrometers to detect and quantify methane point sources from space

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel H. Cusworth ◽  
Daniel J. Jacob ◽  
Daniel J. Varon ◽  
Christopher Chan Miller ◽  
Xiong Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Resolution ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Optimal Estimation ◽  
Estimation Algorithm ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Pixel Resolution ◽  
Gas Fields

Abstract. We examine the potential for global detection of methane plumes from individual point sources with the new generation of spaceborne imaging spectrometers (EnMAP, PRISMA, EMIT, SBG) scheduled for launch in 2019–2025. These instruments are designed to map the Earth's surface with a sampling distance as fine as 30 × 30 m2 but they have spectral resolution of 7–10 nm in the 2200–2400 nm band that should also allow useful detection of atmospheric methane. We simulate scenes viewed by EnMAP (10 nm spectral resolution, 180 signal-to-noise ratio) using the EnMAP End-to-End Simulation Tool with superimposed methane plumes generated by large-eddy simulations. We retrieve atmospheric methane and surface reflectivity for these scenes using the IMAP-DOAS optimal estimation algorithm. We find an EnMAP precision of 4–13 % for atmospheric methane depending on surface type, allowing effective single-pass detection of 100+ kg h−1 methane point sources depending on surface brightness, surface homogeneity, and wind speed. Successful retrievals over very heterogeneous surfaces such as an urban mosaic require finer spectral resolution. We simulated the EnMAP capability with actual plume observations over oil/gas fields in California from the airborne AVIRIS-NG sensor (3 × 3 m2 pixel resolution, 5 nm spectral resolution, SNR 200–400). We spectrally and spatially downsampled AVIRIS-NG images to match EnMAP instrument specifications and found that we could successfully detect point sources of ~ 100 kg h−1 over bright surfaces. Estimated emission rates inferred with a generic Integrated Mass Enhancement (IME) method agreed within a factor of 2 between EnMAP and AVIRIS-NG. Better agreement may be achieved with a more customized IME method. Our results suggest that imaging spectrometers in space could play a transformative role in the future for quantifying methane emissions from point sources on a global scale.

scholarly journals Methane Mapping with Future Satellite Imaging Spectrometers

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 3054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alana K. Ayasse ◽  
Philip E. Dennison ◽  
Markus Foote ◽  
Andrew K. Thorpe ◽  
Sarang Joshi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Matched Filter ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Imaging Spectrometer ◽  
Satellite Imaging ◽  
Shortwave Infrared

This study evaluates a new generation of satellite imaging spectrometers to measure point source methane emissions from anthropogenic sources. We used the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer Next Generation(AVIRIS-NG) images with known methane plumes to create two simulated satellite products. One simulation had a 30 m spatial resolution with ~200 Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in the Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) and the other had a 60 m spatial resolution with ~400 SNR in the SWIR; both products had a 7.5 nm spectral spacing. We applied a linear matched filter with a sparsity prior and an albedo correction to detect and quantify the methane emission in the original AVIRIS-NG images and in both satellite simulations. We also calculated an emission flux for all images. We found that all methane plumes were detectable in all satellite simulations. The flux calculations for the simulated satellite images correlated well with the calculated flux for the original AVIRIS-NG images. We also found that coarsening spatial resolution had the largest impact on the sensitivity of the results. These results suggest that methane detection and quantification of point sources will be possible with the next generation of satellite imaging spectrometers.

scholarly journals Quantifying methane point sources from fine-scale (GHGSat) satellite observations of atmospheric methane plumes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Varon ◽  
Daniel J. Jacob ◽  
Jason McKeever ◽  
Dylan Jervis ◽  
Berke O. A. Durak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Flux Method ◽  
Pixel Resolution ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Source Rate ◽  
The Cross

Abstract. Anthropogenic methane emissions originate from a large number of relatively small point sources. The planned GHGSat satellite fleet aims to quantify emissions from individual point sources by measuring methane column plumes over selected ~ 10 × 10 km2 domains with ≤ 50 × 50 m2 pixel resolution and 1–5 % measurement precision. Here we develop algorithms for retrieving point source rates from such measurements. We simulate a large ensemble of instantaneous methane column plumes at 50 × 50 m2 pixel resolution for a range of atmospheric conditions using the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) in large eddy simulation (LES) mode and adding instrument noise. We show that standard methods to infer source rates by Gaussian plume inversion or source pixel mass balance are prone to large errors because the turbulence cannot be properly parameterized on the small scale of instantaneous methane plumes. The integrated mass enhancement (IME) method, which relates total plume mass to source rate, and the cross-sectional flux method, which infers source rate from fluxes across plume transects, are better adapted to the problem. We show that the IME method with local measurements of the 10-m wind speed can infer source rates with error of 0.07–0.17 t h−1 + 5–12 % depending on instrument precision (1–5 %). The cross-sectional flux method has slightly larger errors (0.07–0.26 t h−1 + 8–12 %) but a simpler physical basis. For comparison, point sources larger than 0.5 t h−1 contribute more than 75 % of methane emissions reported to the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Additional error applies if local wind speed measurements are not available, and may dominate the overall error at low wind speeds. Low winds are beneficial for source detection but not for source quantification.

scholarly journals Towards accurate methane point-source quantification from high-resolution 2-D plume imagery

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 6667-6681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siraput Jongaramrungruang ◽  
Christian Frankenberg ◽  
Georgios Matheou ◽  
Andrew K. Thorpe ◽  
David R. Thompson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Methane Flux ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Flux Rate ◽  
Background Wind ◽  
Imaging Spectrometer ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Methane Enhancement

Abstract. Methane is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas in the Earth climate system but emission quantification of localized point sources has been proven challenging, resulting in ambiguous regional budgets and source category distributions. Although recent advancements in airborne remote sensing instruments enable retrievals of methane enhancements at an unprecedented resolution of 1–5 m at regional scales, emission quantification of individual sources can be limited by the lack of knowledge of local wind speed. Here, we developed an algorithm that can estimate flux rates solely from mapped methane plumes, avoiding the need for ancillary information on wind speed. The algorithm was trained on synthetic measurements using large eddy simulations under a range of background wind speeds of 1–10 m s−1 and source emission rates ranging from 10 to 1000 kg h−1. The surrogate measurements mimic plume mapping performed by the next-generation Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS-NG) and provide an ensemble of 2-D snapshots of column methane enhancements at 5 m spatial resolution. We make use of the integrated total methane enhancement in each plume, denoted as integrated methane enhancement (IME), and investigate how this IME relates to the actual methane flux rate. Our analysis shows that the IME corresponds to the flux rate nonlinearly and is strongly dependent on the background wind speed over the plume. We demonstrate that the plume width, defined based on the plume angular distribution around its main axis, provides information on the associated background wind speed. This allows us to invert source flux rate based solely on the IME and the plume shape itself. On average, the error estimate based on randomly generated plumes is approximately 30 % for an individual estimate and less than 10 % for an aggregation of 30 plumes. A validation against a natural gas controlled-release experiment agrees to within 32 %, supporting the basis for the applicability of this technique to quantifying point sources over large geographical areas in airborne field campaigns and future space-based observations.

scholarly journals Spectral and Radiometric Calibration of the Next Generation Airborne Visible Infrared Spectrometer (AVIRIS-NG)

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 2129 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Chapman ◽  
David R. Thompson ◽  
Mark C. Helmlinger ◽  
Brian D. Bue ◽  
Robert O. Green ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Image Data ◽  
Radiometric Calibration ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Imaging Spectrometer ◽  
In Situ Data ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Infrared Spectrometer ◽  
Calibration Techniques ◽  
Spectrometer Data

We describe advanced spectral and radiometric calibration techniques developed for NASA’s Next Generation Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS-NG). By employing both statistically rigorous analysis and utilizing in situ data to inform calibration procedures and parameter estimation, we can dramatically reduce undesirable artifacts and minimize uncertainties of calibration parameters notoriously difficult to characterize in the laboratory. We describe a novel approach for destriping imaging spectrometer data through minimizing a Markov Random Field model. We then detail statistical methodology for bad pixel correction of the instrument, followed by the laboratory and field protocols involved in the corrections and evaluate their effectiveness on historical data. Finally, we review the geometric processing procedure used in production of the radiometrically calibrated image data.

scholarly journals Quantifying methane point sources from fine-scale satellite observations of atmospheric methane plumes

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 5673-5686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Varon ◽  
Daniel J. Jacob ◽  
Jason McKeever ◽  
Dylan Jervis ◽  
Berke O. A. Durak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Flux Method ◽  
Pixel Resolution ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Source Rate ◽  
The Cross

Abstract. Anthropogenic methane emissions originate from a large number of relatively small point sources. The planned GHGSat satellite fleet aims to quantify emissions from individual point sources by measuring methane column plumes over selected ∼10×10 km2 domains with ≤50×50 m2 pixel resolution and 1 %–5 % measurement precision. Here we develop algorithms for retrieving point source rates from such measurements. We simulate a large ensemble of instantaneous methane column plumes at 50×50 m2 pixel resolution for a range of atmospheric conditions using the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) in large eddy simulation (LES) mode and adding instrument noise. We show that standard methods to infer source rates by Gaussian plume inversion or source pixel mass balance are prone to large errors because the turbulence cannot be properly parameterized on the small scale of instantaneous methane plumes. The integrated mass enhancement (IME) method, which relates total plume mass to source rate, and the cross-sectional flux method, which infers source rate from fluxes across plume transects, are better adapted to the problem. We show that the IME method with local measurements of the 10 m wind speed can infer source rates with an error of 0.07–0.17 t h-1+5 %–12 % depending on instrument precision (1 %–5 %). The cross-sectional flux method has slightly larger errors (0.07–0.26 t h-1+8 %–12 %) but a simpler physical basis. For comparison, point sources larger than 0.3 t h−1 contribute more than 75 % of methane emissions reported to the US Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Additional error applies if local wind speed measurements are not available and may dominate the overall error at low wind speeds. Low winds are beneficial for source detection but detrimental for source quantification.

Evaluating the effects of surface properties on methane retrievals using a synthetic airborne visible/infrared imaging spectrometer next generation (AVIRIS-NG) image

2018 ◽  
Vol 215 ◽  
pp. 386-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alana K. Ayasse ◽  
Andrew K. Thorpe ◽  
Dar A. Roberts ◽  
Christopher C. Funk ◽  
Philip E. Dennison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Properties ◽  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Imaging Spectrometer

scholarly journals Airborne methane remote measurements reveal heavy-tail flux distribution in Four Corners region

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (35) ◽  
pp. 9734-9739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Frankenberg ◽  
Andrew K. Thorpe ◽  
David R. Thompson ◽  
Glynn Hulley ◽  
Eric Adam Kort ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Imaging Spectrometer ◽  
Thermal Infrared Imaging ◽  
Four Corners ◽  
Remote Measurements ◽  
Total Point

Methane (CH4) impacts climate as the second strongest anthropogenic greenhouse gas and air quality by influencing tropospheric ozone levels. Space-based observations have identified the Four Corners region in the Southwest United States as an area of large CH4 enhancements. We conducted an airborne campaign in Four Corners during April 2015 with the next-generation Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (near-infrared) and Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (thermal infrared) imaging spectrometers to better understand the source of methane by measuring methane plumes at 1- to 3-m spatial resolution. Our analysis detected more than 250 individual methane plumes from fossil fuel harvesting, processing, and distributing infrastructures, spanning an emission range from the detection limit ∼ 2 kg/h to 5 kg/h through ∼ 5,000 kg/h. Observed sources include gas processing facilities, storage tanks, pipeline leaks, and well pads, as well as a coal mine venting shaft. Overall, plume enhancements and inferred fluxes follow a lognormal distribution, with the top 10% emitters contributing 49 to 66% to the inferred total point source flux of 0.23 Tg/y to 0.39 Tg/y. With the observed confirmation of a lognormal emission distribution, this airborne observing strategy and its ability to locate previously unknown point sources in real time provides an efficient and effective method to identify and mitigate major emissions contributors over a wide geographic area. With improved instrumentation, this capability scales to spaceborne applications [Thompson DR, et al. (2016) Geophys Res Lett 43(12):6571–6578]. Further illustration of this potential is demonstrated with two detected, confirmed, and repaired pipeline leaks during the campaign.

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