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Methane Plume Technical Working Group
The Methane Plume Technical Working Group (MP TWG) supports the rapidly growing field of remote sensing for the detection and quantification of methane emissions. By fostering collaboration, the MP TWG will drive advancements in the evolving field of measurement and analysis. The working group will focus specifically on increasing consistency across products and results, improving the understanding of what causes errors, and enabling a well-constructed validation strategy to increase trust in the data products.
The MP TWG is part of the Data Foundation's broader Climate Data Collaborative, which launched in 2024 to make climate and environmental data work better for decision-makers across sectors. Our efforts to improve data quality, accessibility, and usefulness are driven by several focused initiatives, including the Greenhouse Gas Coalition, the Global Digital Single Market Data Alliance, and the Methane Plume Technical Working Group.
The MP TWG brings together stakeholders and technical experts to pursue workstreams around developing standards and best practices, developing a validation framework, and coordinating efforts across the field.
▶ Workstream 1: Standards and Best Practices.
Develop written consensus standards and best practices for the detection and quantification of methane plumes, including guidance on data product formats, methodology documentation, uncertainty characterization, and end-user interpretation.
▶ Workstream 2: Validation Framework.
Develop a tiered validation and characterization framework and assist in efficient deployment and analysis of controlled release experiments that can be applied consistently across datasets and measurement systems.
▶ Workstream 3: Field Coordination and Roadmap.
Serve as a central convening body, tracking ongoing and emerging initiatives to produce a roadmap that supports coordination across the field.
Leadership
The TWG will be convened by Annmarie Eldering, a Senior Fellow with the Climate Data Collaborative who previously led efforts in documentary and consensus standards for methane plumes at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Membership
This TWG aims to unite expertise from federal and state agencies, academia, business, and industry to enhance robust transparency, accuracy, reliability, and interoperability of methane plume detection and quantification data products.
Participants will be required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which is designed to create a set of ground rules that protects intellectual property while allowing for free exchange of ideas and information.
The TWG is seeking active participation from organizations and individuals with background in remotely sensed methane plume detection or data analysis from controlled release experiments. Please fill out our interest form to get involved.
