Satellites help tackle landfill methane leaks

Satellites help tackle landfill methane leaks

Satellites are emerging as a powerful new tool in the fight to curb emissions of methane. While methane is much shorter-lived in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, it is vastly more potent at trapping heat, which makes rapid cuts essential for slowing warming in the short term. The same satellite technology that has transformed methane monitoring in the oil and gas sector is now being turned toward another major source—landfill sites.

Leicester researchers use satellites to tackle landfill methane leaks

Researchers in Leicester are leading an international project using satellites to help curb methane emissions from landfill sites. Methane gas is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide per tonne that contributes to global warming and landfill sites account for more than 10 per cent of human-caused methane emissions. A research team, led by Dr Harjinder Sembhi, of the University of Leicester’s School of Physics and Astronomy and Space P…