Methane leaks from offshore oil rigs are normally hard to spot from space but a technique called “glint mode” now makes it possible
Water makes it hard to detect methane leaks from space
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
A satellite monitoring technique that uses the reflection of the sun makes it possible to detect methane leaks from offshore oil rigs from space.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas about 80 times more efficient than carbon dioxide at trapping heat. The amount of methane in the atmosphere has more than doubled since pre-industrial levels, largely from human sources like livestock, landfills and oil and gas production.
Along with airplanes and ground-based sensors, a growing constellation of satellites monitor methane plumes …