A NASA orbiter captured sights spanning Central Asia, the Middle East, and the southwestern United States, highlighting more than 50 sites and pieces of equipment that emit methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and scientists see it as a major driver of climate change when released from energy and industrial sources. This new data underscores how methane contributes to warming in the near term and why tracking its emissions matters for policy and science alike.
The Investigation of Mineral Dust Resources on the Earth’s Surface, better known by its English acronym EMIT, was mounted on the International Space Station in July. From its vantage point in low Earth orbit, EMIT gathers data that help researchers map mineral content in desert regions and study how mineral dust gets lofted into the atmosphere. In doing so, the instrument advances understanding of dust’s role in climate dynamics and regional weather patterns. EMIT’s measurements offer a clearer view of how dust interacts with clouds, radiation, and surface processes, deepening knowledge about Earth’s climate system.
“Control of methane emissions is key to limiting global warming,” stated NASA leadership, underscoring the urgency of reducing leaks at their source and improving global monitoring networks.
The agency explained that EMIT has produced a map of desert mineral distributions and that dust is intentionally dispersed into the atmosphere to examine how airborne particles influence climate processes. That capability helps scientists assess dust transport, atmospheric chemistry, and the potential feedbacks that dust and methane emissions may have on temperature trends across continents.
The methane signal is detected through infrared wavelengths that produce a distinctive spectral pattern. EMIT’s imaging spectrometer can identify this spectral fingerprint with high precision, and it can also quantify carbon dioxide levels, broadening the instrument’s role in tracking multiple greenhouse gases from space. This capability supports researchers as they connect emission sources to atmospheric composition and climate effects, informing mitigation strategies and preparedness planning.
Methane, while currently present in smaller quantities than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, is far more efficient at trapping heat in the short term. Scientists estimate that methane’s impact on warming can be multiple times stronger than CO2 over a couple of decades after release. Such dynamics emphasize the importance of rapid detection and accurate accounting of methane sources to inform regulatory action and technological improvements in leak detection and containment.
Oil fields, natural gas facilities, and related infrastructure often contribute to methane emissions. EMIT’s observations offer a real-time perspective on how these emissions unfold across landscapes and seasons, turning space-based data into actionable insights for regulators, industry operators, and researchers alike.
Andrew Thorpe, a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, noted that several methane clouds identified by EMIT appear unusually large in scale, standing out in comparison with prior space-based observations. These findings highlight the capability of the instrument to reveal emission plumes that may otherwise go undetected, guiding targeted investigations and remediation efforts.
in the USA, Asia and the Middle East
EMIT detected a substantial cloud footprint about 3.3 kilometers southeast of Carlsbad, in the Permian Basin, a region renowned for its expansive oil and gas resources spanning parts of southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. The visibility and scale of this plume illustrate how industrial activity can produce sizable emission events that must be monitored for environmental and public health reasons.
In Turkmenistan, EMIT identified twelve methane clouds stemming from oil and gas infrastructure along the shores of the Caspian Sea. Some plumes were propelled westward by prevailing winds and stretched for more than 32 kilometers, illustrating how atmospheric transport can extend impacts beyond their source regions and complicate regional climate assessments.
According to NASA leadership, EMIT serves as a crucial tool for measuring methane. The instrument’s insights help scientists quantify emissions, understand their contribution to the greenhouse effect, and track how emissions evolve at the source. This enhanced understanding supports policy discussions, industry best practices, and climate models that inform decision-making at national and international levels.