Dive Brief:
- Google and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have co-developed an artificial intelligence model to track global methane emissions from space.
- Named MAPL-EMIT, the AI utilizes NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) instrument on the International Space Station to monitor these emissions.
- This model was introduced in a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), emphasizing faster and more detailed climate mitigation strategies.
Dive Insight:
- The tool aims to overcome a significant barrier in identifying methane sources by automating detection and localization using a deep learning framework.
- Trained on 3.6 million physics-simulated methane plumes, MAPL-EMIT can detect 50% more methane leaks than human experts, uncovering over 23,000 hidden methane plumes globally, including 24 of the largest emitting landfills.
- Municipal solid waste landfills account for one of the third-largest sources of methane emissions in the U.S., according to the EPA.
- The collaboration extends Google’s initiative to manage superpollutants like methane, including a recent partnership with an AI-powered recycling company that aims to reduce significant amounts of carbon dioxide by 2030 while additionally managing landfill-related methane emissions.
