Latest Insights

El Mercurio: Mapping Methane in Chile with NASA Technology
With NASA technology, methane emissions are being mapped in Chile. Using infrared images, taken from an airplane, the main sources of emissions can be detected and quantified.
Study offers framework for assessing methane intensity of O&G operators
MEDIA CONTACT: Kelly Vaughn, Carbon Mapperkelly@carbonmapper.org(970) 401-0001 February 1, 2023—Pasadena, CA—Growing public awareness on the climate risks of methane from oil and gas, plus the availability of technologically feasible improvements to lower methane...
AP: Difficulty Measuring Methane Slows Plan to Slash Emissions
Carbon Mapper Launches Chile Airborne Surveys to Pinpoint Sources of Methane
MEDIA CONTACT: Kelly Vaughn, Carbon Mapperkelly@carbonmapper.org(970) 401-0001 Carbon Mapper Launches Chile Airborne Surveys to Pinpoint Sources of Methane Effort aims to expand understanding of emissions activity in high-impact sectors and regions, directly...
See Our Data
The Carbon Mapper program is built upon the ongoing work of our current science and research team. Since 2016, our experts and our collaborators at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and Arizona State University have used aircraft equipped with prototype versions of the Carbon Mapper satellite instruments along with other observing systems and data sets to assess methane emissions in representative regions and economic sectors across the U.S.
Our Plan
Carbon Mapper has three main objectives:
Help accelerate mitigation of methane super-emitters

Independently verify power plant CO2 emissions globally

Deliver 25+ other hyperspectral indicators for carbon and ecosystem management

To meet these objectives, we will deploy a constellation of satellites and aircraft equipped with high performance visible/infrared imaging spectrometers with the ability to identify, quantify and attribute global methane and CO2 point-source emissions at the scale of individual facilities and equipment.
The methane and CO2 data will be made freely available via Carbon Mapper’s global data portal to ensure maximum transparency. To promote trust and broader adoption, the State of California will maintain its own data portal and will independently review, ground-truth and validate the Carbon Mapper data while advancing new mitigation strategies and working to expand those strategies through its partners in other jurisdictions across the U.S. and globally. Additionally, Carbon Mapper will maximize the use of the data by supporting an ongoing research program and by conducting outreach and stakeholder engagement to ensure policy relevance.
Urgency
As a society, we have less than 10 years to meet critical milestones in greenhouse gas emission reductions (particularly methane) and improved conservation of ecosystems, biodiversity, and other natural resources. There’s still time to act but meeting these ambitious targets requires an all-hands-on-deck mobilization on many fronts without delay. Carbon Mapper’s goals include contributing to the growing community of organizations working to offer science-based guidance to decision makers at all levels of society.
Progress and Next Steps
Carbon Mapper is deploying a multi-scale emissions monitoring system from air and space. We’re currently building two demonstration satellites that will launch in early 2023 and plan to expand to a fully operational constellation of many satellites at a future date. The latter will provide daily to weekly sampling of high priority regions globally. We initiated an effort with Teledyne Imaging Systems two years ago to develop the critical focal plane arrays that form the heart of our imaging spectrometer instrument. The first two assemblies were delivered in January 2021 and our first major program design review is scheduled for late summer. Meanwhile, since the climate clock is ticking, we’re working to help accelerate near-term mitigation action through expanded surveys of key regions in North America using our remote-sensing aircraft, supporting efforts by the US Climate Alliance, state agencies, and other partners.