The world is changing. We can study the changes and try to adapt our behaviour or simply look the other way. Fortunately, there is a lot of ongoing research that allows us to learn about current data and trends of change.
A group of researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) has developed a system that locates methane leaks around the world through satellite imagery.
Methane (CH₄) is known as one of the greenhouse gases that contribute most to climate change, having a warming effect around 30 times greater than carbon dioxide.
For this reason, in recent years its reduction has been included in the basis of various international agreements, including the Paris Agreement. Its invisibility to the human eye means that leaks often go unnoticed.
For this reason, the LARS (Land and Atmosphere Remote Sensing) group, linked to the Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering of the UPV, focuses on the detection and analysis of mega-leaks through satellite images.
They are using space-based monitoring of bio/geophysical variables of the biosphere and have even managed to locate a leak on a marine platform, something that had not been achieved by other scientists before due to light reflections.
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