Space-based monitoring systems show promise in detecting methane leaks from crude oil and gas operations, according to new research from a University of Iowa (UI) engineering professor and colleagues.

Researchers conducted the largest blind controlled study of instruments and algorithms detecting methane. The year-long study included 15 teams across nine countries who analyzed data from 12 satellites.

"This work shows that satellites are effective at detecting and quantifying methane leaks,” said Sahar El Abbadi, a UI assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and co-author of a paper detailing the findings. “This means satellites are ready for applications ranging from enforcing regulation to updating methane inventories.”

The paper was published this month in Nature, a prominent multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed scientific journal.

The research team timed releases of methane to when government, private, and non-profit satellites were traveling overhead. Most systems showed strong results in detection performance and quantification accuracy, while AI methods of detection showed promise although a high rate of false positives.

Importantly, the researchers found some satellites could even detect even small leaks of methane, much smaller than previously thought possible, El Abbadi said.

El Abbadi, who joined the College of Engineering in 2026, developed the controlled release equipment for the project as a post-doctoral researcher at Stanford University.

Adam R. Brandt of Stanford was the paper’s lead author. In addition to Iowa and Stanford, collaborating institutions include University of Michigan, University of California-Berkeley, and the Max Plank Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany.

“By establishing these findings, we hope this moves the conversation beyond if these systems work, towards discussions of how, given algorithmic trade-offs, and where they can be most effectively applied to drive global methane mitigation,” the authors wrote.