Methane leak detection: satellites, aircraft and fibre-optic sensing

How do satellite, aircraft and fibre-optic sensors compare on the smallest methane leak they can detect and the ground they cover?

This comparison sets satellite and aircraft methane detection against fibre-optic sensing, which measures strain and vibration rather than gas. Only the satellite and aircraft rows give a methane leak detection figure, and each figure comes with its own conditions, as stated in the cell.

Methane leak detection: satellites, aircraft and fibre-optic sensing. Each cell shows a value, how well it is evidenced, and its sources.
Option	Smallest leak detectableSmallest methane leak rate the method can detect, in kilograms per hour (kg/h), with the stated probability or sensitivity and the conditions the source gives.	Area covered or revisitGround covered or how often it is seen again: pixel size in metres or kilometres, or the number of sites and the period surveyed.	Who uses it todayOrganisations or programmes using the method, with the place and year of the figure as stated in the source.	Main limitationThe main constraint on performance, with the measure or condition that shows it, as stated in the cited source.
Satellite detection	Vendor product guide for Tanager: 90% probability of detection of 90 to 180 kg per hour of methane, varying with imaging mode, at 3 m/s wind, 35 degree solar zenith angle, 25% albedo and 30 m ground sampling distance. Not independently checked.Reported, unverified[3]	Maps the whole globe every day at pixels of about 7 by 5.5 km (TROPOMI on Sentinel-5P).Demonstrated[2][1]	The Dutch institute SRON checks TROPOMI detections manually every week and passes persistent leaks to higher-resolution satellites (ESA, 2023).Reported, unverified[2]	ESA describes the 7 by 5.5 km resolution as relatively coarse, and passes persistent leaks to higher-resolution satellites so that they can identify the source (ESA, 2023).Reported, unverified[2]
Fibre-optic and ground sensing	No reliable public figure	One 27 km dark fibre section recorded passively for seven months, sampled every 2 m (Ajo-Franklin et al., 2019).Demonstrated[5]	Research studies on dark telecom fibre for seismic monitoring and near-surface ground properties, as shown in a 2019 field study (Ajo-Franklin et al., 2019). The source does not name users or programmes.Demonstrated[5]	No reliable public figure
Aircraft surveys	Sensitivity to methane point sources down to 5 to 10 kg per hour for AVIRIS-NG, as stated in the paper's introduction, which cites other work. The sentence gives no detection probability or wind condition (Cusworth et al., 2020).Reported, unverified[4]	Repeat flights over 270 landfills and 166 organic waste facilities between 2016 and 2018 (Cusworth et al., 2020).Demonstrated[4]	The California Methane Survey flew AVIRIS-NG over 436 landfills and composting facilities (Cusworth et al., 2020, introduction).Demonstrated[4]	Flying 3 to 4 km up gives 3 to 4 m resolution, and AVIRIS-NG is only sensitive to methane point sources, not diffuse area sources (Cusworth et al., 2020).Demonstrated[4]

Methane leak detection: satellites, aircraft and fibre-optic sensing. Each cell shows a value, how well it is evidenced, and its sources.

Option

Smallest leak detectableSmallest methane leak rate the method can detect, in kilograms per hour (kg/h), with the stated probability or sensitivity and the conditions the source gives.

Area covered or revisitGround covered or how often it is seen again: pixel size in metres or kilometres, or the number of sites and the period surveyed.

Who uses it todayOrganisations or programmes using the method, with the place and year of the figure as stated in the source.

Main limitationThe main constraint on performance, with the measure or condition that shows it, as stated in the cited source.

Satellite detection

Vendor product guide for Tanager: 90% probability of detection of 90 to 180 kg per hour of methane, varying with imaging mode, at 3 m/s wind, 35 degree solar zenith angle, 25% albedo and 30 m ground sampling distance. Not independently checked.Reported, unverified[3]

Maps the whole globe every day at pixels of about 7 by 5.5 km (TROPOMI on Sentinel-5P).Demonstrated[2][1]

The Dutch institute SRON checks TROPOMI detections manually every week and passes persistent leaks to higher-resolution satellites (ESA, 2023).Reported, unverified[2]

ESA describes the 7 by 5.5 km resolution as relatively coarse, and passes persistent leaks to higher-resolution satellites so that they can identify the source (ESA, 2023).Reported, unverified[2]

Fibre-optic and ground sensing

No reliable public figure

One 27 km dark fibre section recorded passively for seven months, sampled every 2 m (Ajo-Franklin et al., 2019).Demonstrated[5]

Research studies on dark telecom fibre for seismic monitoring and near-surface ground properties, as shown in a 2019 field study (Ajo-Franklin et al., 2019). The source does not name users or programmes.Demonstrated[5]

No reliable public figure

Aircraft surveys

Sensitivity to methane point sources down to 5 to 10 kg per hour for AVIRIS-NG, as stated in the paper's introduction, which cites other work. The sentence gives no detection probability or wind condition (Cusworth et al., 2020).Reported, unverified[4]

Repeat flights over 270 landfills and 166 organic waste facilities between 2016 and 2018 (Cusworth et al., 2020).Demonstrated[4]

The California Methane Survey flew AVIRIS-NG over 436 landfills and composting facilities (Cusworth et al., 2020, introduction).Demonstrated[4]

Flying 3 to 4 km up gives 3 to 4 m resolution, and AVIRIS-NG is only sensitive to methane point sources, not diffuse area sources (Cusworth et al., 2020).Demonstrated[4]

What the table shows

The satellite cell is a vendor probability of detection for 90 to 180 kg per hour. The aircraft cell is a stated sensitivity of 5 to 10 kg per hour. The two figures describe different things.
Satellites map the whole globe every day at pixels of about 7 by 5.5 km, and ESA describes that resolution as relatively coarse.
Aircraft surveys flew repeatedly over 270 landfills and 166 organic waste facilities between 2016 and 2018.
The fibre row has no methane figure in the sources reviewed. Its published field example is a 2019 seismic study of a 27 km dark fibre section.

Read with care

The satellite figure is a vendor specification that has not been independently checked. It applies at 3 m/s wind, 35 degree solar zenith angle, 25% albedo and 30 m ground sampling distance.
The aircraft figure comes from one California study flown at 3 to 4 km altitude, so it does not describe all aircraft surveys.
Fibre-optic figures describe seismic and strain sensing. They are not gas detection figures and should not be read as a methane leak limit.
Coverage figures count sites or pixels, not leaks found or repaired, and the sources reviewed do not report repair outcomes.

Sources

peer reviewed paper
Automated detection and monitoring of methane super-emitters using satellite data
Berend J. Schuit, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Pieter Bijl et al.. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Sept 2023. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
news
Trio of Sentinel satellites map methane super-emitters
European Space Agency, 20 Sept 2023. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
other
Product Guide: Data Definition & Specification
Carbon Mapper, 7 Oct 2026. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
peer reviewed paper
Using remote sensing to detect, validate, and quantify methane emissions from California solid waste operations
Daniel H. Cusworth, Riley M. Duren, Andrew K. Thorpe et al.. Environmental Research Letters, 29 Apr 2020. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
peer reviewed paper
Distributed Acoustic Sensing Using Dark Fiber for Near-Surface Characterization and Broadband Seismic Event Detection
Jonathan B. Ajo-Franklin, Shan Dou, Nathaniel J. Lindsey et al.. Scientific Reports, 4 Feb 2019. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.