Satellite-Based Methane Emission Mapping, Tracking and Benchmarking: Cattle and Wetlands

Project Lead: Bryce Kelly, UNSW

Project Partners: UoW, University at Buffalo, SCU, NSW DPI, NSW DCCEEW, Moffatt Falls, and Aurecon.

This project will use benchmarking to reduce methane emissions from beef cattle and pastures. The goal by 2030 is abatement of 1.6 million tonnes of CO2e. To achieve this, we will convert TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) satellite atmospheric methane measurements into rate of methane emissions estimates. We will use these satellite-based maps to benchmark emissions from grazing cattle and wetland landscapes. The benchmark data will then be used to determine best land management practices to reduce whole of property methane emissions in grazing cattle districts. The results will also provide insight about the water-carbon nexus in the Murray-Darling Basin.  The methods developed in this project will be immediately transferable when higher-resolution satellites like MethaneSAT and CO2M are launched. These higher-resolution satellite products will then enable a detailed analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from most land uses.

Project Timeline: May 2024 – June 2026