Identifying and Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions with the AVIRIS-3 Airborne Imaging Spectrometer

Remotely sensed data from imaging spectrometers can identify both methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) enhancements, subsequently enabling the quantification and direct sectoral attribution necessary to better constrain greenhouse gas emissions and inform mitigation strategies at local, regional, and national scales. We validate the ability of the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer 3 (AVIRIS-3), a NASA imaging spectrometer, to detect greenhouse gas enhancements from an airborne platform for the first time. Multiple CH4 controlled release experiments demonstrate that AVIRIS-3 can detect emissions at variable emission rates (< 4 − 10 kg CH4/hour) and multiple flight altitudes (e.g., both 2,500 ft and 27,000 ft above ground level). The AVIRIS-3 instrument design provides several key improvements over earlier generations of airborne imaging spectrometers that enable detailed and precise greenhouse gas mapping from a range of emission sectors.