Articles | Volume 19, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-7217-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-7217-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
12 Nov 2026
Research article |
| 12 Nov 2026
| 12 Nov 2026
Plume emission rate estimation using Gaussian plumes in remote imaging spectroscopy with SPIIRE
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Philip G. Brodrick
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
David R. Thompson
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Andrew K. Thorpe
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Robert O. Green
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
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Daniel J. Jacob, Daniel J. Varon, Daniel H. Cusworth, Philip E. Dennison, Christian Frankenberg, Ritesh Gautam, Luis Guanter, John Kelley, Jason McKeever, Lesley E. Ott, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Qu, Andrew K. Thorpe, John R. Worden, and Riley M. Duren
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Mark T. Richardson, David R. Thompson, Marcin J. Kurowski, and Matthew D. Lebsock
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Sunlight can pass diagonally through the atmosphere, cutting through the 3-D water vapour field in a way that
smears2-D maps of imaging spectroscopy vapour retrievals. In simulations we show how this smearing is
towardsor
away fromthe Sun, so calculating
across the solar direction allows sub-kilometre information about water vapour's spatial scaling to be calculated. This could be tested by airborne campaigns and used to obtain new information from upcoming spaceborne data products.
Siraput Jongaramrungruang, Georgios Matheou, Andrew K. Thorpe, Zhao-Cheng Zeng, and Christian Frankenberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7999–8017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7999-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7999-2021, 2021
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This study shows how precision error and bias in column methane retrieval change with different instrument specifications and the impact of spectrally complex surface albedos on retrievals. We show how surface interferences can be mitigated with an optimal spectral resolution and a higher polynomial degree in a retrieval process. The findings can inform future satellite instrument designs to have robust observations capable of separating real CH4 plume enhancements from surface interferences.
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Short summary
This paper introduces a new method called SPIIRE (Statistical Plume Imaging Inversion for Rate Estimation) to more accurately measure gas emission rates, like methane, using satellite imaging. Past methods often relied on human operators and were therefore error prone. Instead, SPIIRE uses a statistical method that matches data to a flexible plume model, enabling rate estimates for complex plumes. SPIIRE shows good performance on real data including point sources, overlapping plumes, and wide area sources like landfills.
This paper introduces a new method called SPIIRE (Statistical Plume Imaging Inversion for Rate...
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