Phase 1 (2024–2026) — completed.

Phase 1 ran from 2024 to 2026 and closed with the Final Review in Ispra on 2 April 2026. It improved the satellite products themselves, and used them to probe regional and global methane budgets — producing the findings on the Results pages and motivating Phase 2.

WP1

Scientific Requirement Consolidation

  • WP11: Synthesis of available observations and gaps in retrievals
  • WP12: Uncertainties in global methane and definition of target areas

WP2

Product Development and Validation

  • WP21: WFMD algorithm and multi-sensor merged product developments
  • WP22: Developments for an improved operational TROPOMI SWIR CH4 retrieval
  • WP23: TIR CH4 spectroscopy improvements and recommendations for future work for TIR and SWIR/TIR retrieval
  • WP24: TIR and SWIR-TIR data

WP3

Scientific Impact and Assessment of New Products and Methods

  • WP31: Fine scale emission detection
  • WP32: Regional inversion and studies
  • WP33: Global studies
  • WP34: Synthesis

Outcome summary.

Four improvements delivered into the operational Sentinel-5P CH4 product, plus TROPOMI/WFMD v2.0 and the EMMA v5.1 merged record (2003–2024). — Retrievals

The IASI thermal-infrared fit window widened from 1232–1290 cm−1 to 1232–1340 cm−1, with a first step toward isotopes from space. — Spectroscopy

217 persistent source regions mapped, and the Bucharest Vidra landfill shown to emit ~40× its official figure. — Hotspots

Regional inversions across Europe, Romania, Scandinavia and the Tropics, and the stratospheric bias finding that created Phase 2. — Inversions · Global

See all Phase 1 results → · Publications →