New methane data from Tanager-1 satellite added to Carbon Mapper's portal
Published on: Feb 05, 2025
Carbon Mapper released more than 300 methane and carbon dioxide plumes derived from observations by the Tanager-1 satellite. This includes data on methane super-emitters from the oil and gas, coal, waste, and agriculture sectors across 25 countries.
Moving forward, Carbon Mapper will routinely publish methane and carbon dioxide data derived from Tanager-1 observations, making them available on an ongoing basis, as soon as 30 days after observation.
Tanager-1 is the first satellite developed by the Carbon Mapper Coalition and launched in August, 2024. It is owned and operated by Planet Labs PBC with technology from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
A scene from Carbon Mapper’s data portal shows methane plumes detected from oil and gas facilities in the Permian Basin on Dec. 4, 2024, via Planet’s Tanager-1 satellite.
Data Portal Tip
You can use filters to see only plumes from Tanager-1. Select “Show filters” at the top left of the portal — then select “Instrument” > “Planet Tanager,” and close filters to view results.
Carbon Mapper data derived from Tanager-1 observations is available on the Carbon Mapper data portal at data.carbonmapper.org.
Transparent methane data can help drive mitigation action
Carbon Mapper’s public data (for non-commercial use) derived from Tanager-1 provides emissions transparency at an unprecedented level of granularity to guide mitigation actions that benefit our climate, economy, public health and safety.
Tanager-1 is part of a growing ecosystem of satellites in orbit. Developed by the Carbon Mapper Coalition and built and operated by Planet Labs, it tracks emissions at different scales and fills a unique observational gap.
The satellite is designed to detect, pinpoint and quantify super-emitters — emissions events that often contribute disproportionately to regional emissions and therefore represent an outsized mitigation opportunity. Carbon Mapper attributes these emissions to their source — tracking them over time and making the data available on our online portal.
This data transparency and accessibility can help prompt mitigation action, improve accountability, prioritize solutions and investments, and help society reduce emissions quickly and cost effectively.