How scientists measured cow burps from space

The day that a new era in agricultural emissions monitoring began — and yes, this really happened. Jed Thomas

In an achievement that sounds like it belongs in an April Fools’ headline but is entirely real, scientists successfully detected methane emissions from cattle at an individual feedlot — not from the ground, but from space. 

The detection took place on February 2, 2022, when GHGSat, a Canadian satellite emissions-monitoring company, used high-resolution orbiting sensors to measure methane plumes from the Bear 5 feedlot in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

The facility, located near Bakersfield, was recorded emitting between 443 and 668 kilograms of methane per hour. 

According to GHGSat, if that level of emission were sustained throughout the year, the cattle could release over 5,100 tonnes of methane — enough energy to power approximately 15,400 homes. 

China: do we need to monitor its methane emissions differently?

As global attention intensifies on cutting short-lived climate pollutants like methane (CH₄), a critical question emerges: should China’s emissions be monitored differently than those of othe... Read More

Why monitor agricultural methane at such small scales?

Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Over a 20-year period, it is more than 84 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. And although it breaks down more quickly than CO₂, it is a major short-term contributor to global warming. 

Agriculture is the world’s largest source of human-caused methane emissions — and cattle are the leading emitters within that sector.

In 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that agriculture made up around 11% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with more than a quarter of that coming from livestock. 

Despite popular assumptions, the majority of cattle methane does not come from flatulence. Roughly 95% is expelled through burps, primarily through the nose, due to microbial fermentation in the cow’s digestive system. 

Why satellite monitoring was a breakthrough for measuring agricultural methane

Before 2022, measuring methane from livestock operations had proven extremely difficult.

While industrial emissions often come from clearly defined point sources, methane from cattle is diffuse, irregular, and easily dispersed by wind— complicating efforts to monitor it from the ground. 

GHGSat’s detection at Bear 5 marked the first time methane emissions from an individual agricultural facility were recorded from orbit.

Their satellite-based sensors, each about the size of a microwave oven, were originally designed to track leaks from oil and gas sites — but their resolution is high enough to detect livestock emissions under the right conditions. 

“This has not been done at an individual facility scale for the agriculture sector, as far as we know,” said Brody Wight, sales director at GHGSat, in a 2022 statement. “The idea is that we need to measure first before you can take real positive action.” 

Google announces groundbreaking AI-equipped methane leak detection satellite

In an ambitious move to confront the escalating climate crisis, Google has announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to launch MethaneSAT, a pioneering satell... Read More

Feedlots, diet and emissions 

Cattle in U.S. feedlots typically spend the final months of their lives eating a concentrated diet — usually corn — to build fat and develop flavor.

Interestingly, this generates less methane than a grass-based diet. However, the concentration of animals in feedlots can still lead to significant localized emissions. 

Experts such as Dr. Frank Mitloehner, a professor of animal science at the University of California, Davis, have noted that feedlots account for roughly 5% to 10% of a steer’s total life cycle emissions.

That said, these are also the environments where mitigation strategies are easiest to test — such as adjusting feed composition or using methane-reducing supplements like certain species of seaweed. 

Other experimental approaches include methane-capturing face masks for cows, though logistical and cost barriers remain. 

Scaling up satellite surveillance 

The detection of cattle methane emissions from space in 2022 was a breakthrough moment — but it’s only one part of a much larger effort to bring emissions monitoring into the satellite age.

In November 2024, GHGSat announced that it will nearly double its constellation of methane-monitoring satellites by the end of 2026, adding nine new satellites to its existing fleet. 

The company’s current constellation, already the largest in the worlddedicated to greenhouse gas monitoring, made over three million observations across 85 countries in 2023 alone, detecting nearly 16,000 methane plumes above the super-emitter threshold of 100 kilograms per hour. 

“Industry, governments, and financial services are hungry for this data, which fills a critical emissions knowledge gap,” said Stephane Germain, GHGSat’s CEO and Founder. “With this rapid scale-up, GHGSat will unlock a level of detail about greenhouse gas emissions that was previously unimaginable.” 

Satellite monitoring, once focused on infrastructure, is now broadening its reach to the agricultural sector, where emissions are diffuse, dynamic, and globally significant.