Methane+

The ESA Methane+ project aims at exploiting the SWIR and TIR CH₄ observations from different satellites in order to better differentiate between sources and sinks of CH₄ on the regional and global scale. For this we will use the CH₄ observations of TROPOMI on Copernicus Sentinel-5p, IASI on MetOp-B, and CrIS on Suomi NPP in combination with atmospheric inversion models.

OBJECTIVES:

Given the identified opportunities and challenges of the current generation of space borne methane sensors, and the scope of the current study, the specific study objectives are as follows:

• Providing support for the algorithm development for the CH₄ SWIR retrieval from TROPOMI, TIR from IASI/CrIS, and joint SWIR-TIR retrieval from TROPOMI and IASI/CrIS.
• Assess the quality of the TROPOMI, IASI and CrIS CH₄ retrievals by comparing data products generated with different algorithms and product validation using independent ”ground-based” measurements.
• Investigate the added value of combining CH₄ SWIR and TIR in regional case studies.
• Infer global sources and sinks of CH₄ from inverse modelling of 2 years of TROPOMI and IASI (and/or CrIS) data.
• Investigate the added value of the combined use of SWIR and TIR CH₄ observations.
• Investigate the consistency of the SWIR and TIR CH₄ satellite data, with model simulated transport and chemistry.
• Formulate a road map for future CH₄ satellite remote sensing based on the outcomes of this study as well as parallel studies covering the use of CH₄ from TROPOMI across the full range of scales.

The Methane+ project started on 22-Jan-2020 with a duration of 2 years.