Advancing Greenhouse Gas Mapping with JPL Imaging Spectrometers: AVIRIS, EMIT, and Carbon-I

Over the past 15 years, imaging spectrometers developed at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory have significantly advanced the field of remote sensing of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) point source emissions. This began in 2008 with airborne observations from the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS), 2013 with the next generation AVIRIS-NG instrument, and has culminated with the launch of NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) in 2022.

These instruments have identified thousands of CH4 and CO2 point source emissions across the oil and gas, waste, and energy sectors, contributing in some cases to emission mitigation efforts. As part of an extended mission, EMIT coverage will expand beyond the arid regions of Earth to cover terrestrial surfaces between +51.6° and −51.6° latitude, enabling direct attribution of anthropogenic emissions on a global scale. EMIT's measurements and greenhouse gas data products are accessible through NASA’s Land Processing DAAC and the U.S. GHG Center, with all associated code available as open source. These data are already being utilized by public, private, and non-profit organizations, including UNEP IMEO and the Carbon Mapper Coalition. Additionally, new airborne instruments, such as AVIRIS-3 (2023) and the planned AVIRIS-5, promise enhanced sensitivity to CH4 and CO2 point sources, offering the potential for direct comparisons with satellite-based EMIT observations.

The Carbon Investigation (Carbon-I), a proposed mission for the NASA Earth System Explorer Program, reflects a dramatic advancement in greenhouse gas mapping capability. It provides a unique combination of coverage, high spatial sampling, and very high sensitivity, to permit quantification of emissions that cannot be observed with current technology. With contiguous global observations of CH4, CO2, and CO at 300 m sampling every 28 days with targeted observations at 30 m sampling, Carbon-I will permit emission quantification at the global to regional scales as well as for localized point sources. Consistent with NASA’s Open Source Science Initiative, all Carbon-I data and code will be publicly accessible, empowering Earth Action initiatives worldwide.