MethaneSAT

Context:

Recently satellite ‘MethaneSAT’ was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket from California

MethaneSAT:

• Aim – To track and measure methane emissions at a global scale
  • Identifies the amount of methane coming from where, who’s responsible, and are those emissions going up or down over time
• Promoting entity – Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
  • A US-based non-profit environmental advocacy group
• Developing Collaborators – Harvard University, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the New Zealand Space Agency
• Mission collaborator – Google
• Significant Features –
  • A washing-machine-sized satellite which orbit the Earth 15 times a day
  • Monitors the oil and gas sector
  • Has a wide-camera view of about 200 km by 200 km
  • High-resolution IR sensor and a spectrometer track the differences in concentrations as small as 3 parts per billion in the atmosphere
  • Collected data will be analysed using cloud-computing and AI technology developed by Google

While MethaneSAT is not the 1^st spacecraft to identify and quantify methane emissions, it will provide more details and have a much wider field of view than any of its predecessors.

• Advantages –
  • Detects both small and large emitters
  • Google Earth Engine shares real-time data
  • Promotes transparency and regulatory accountability
  • Aids nations in meeting emission targets

Methane gas:

• Invisible but strong greenhouse gas
• Source – Fossil fuel account for about 40% of all human-caused methane emissions
• Responsible for 30% of global heating since the Industrial Revolution
• 2^nd largest contributor of global warming after CO₂
  • According to the UNEP, methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide (over a period of 20 years)
• It forms ground-level ozone
  • A colourless and highly irritating gas that forms just above the Earth’s surface
  • Its exposure contributes to 1 million premature deaths every year
• Measures – 
  • 150 countries signed Global Methane Pledge to cut their collective methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030
  • 50 companies responsible for 40% of global oil production have agreed to virtually eliminate their methane pollution at COP28

Source: Indian Express

---

Previous Year Question

Which of the following statements are correct about the deposits of ‘methane hydrate’?
1. Global warming might trigger the release of methane gas from these deposits.
2. Large deposits of ‘methane hydrate’ are found in Arctic Tundra and under the seafloor.
3. Methane in atmosphere oxidizes to carbon dioxide after a decade or two.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2019 Prelims]

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d)

---