Summation

A New Approach for Detecting & Mitigating Methane Emissions to Fight Climate Change

Project Mission

SUMMATION is part of a global effort to slash methane emissions by 30% within this decade.

Led by Berkeley Lab, with partners at Pacific Gas and Electric, California Resources Corporation, California Air Resources Board, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the project’s goal is to design a framework for fast, accurate methane emissions identification and monitoring in California’s Southern San Joaquin Valley, a high-emissions hotspot, and then expand it statewide.

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What is methane?

Methane (CH₄) is a powerful greenhouse gas that is primarily emitted from animal agriculture, energy production, and landfills.
Although it lives in the atmosphere for a shorter time than carbon dioxide (CO₂), its global warming potential is significantly more impactful. Methane is also the primary contributor of ground-level ozone, a greenhouse gas and air pollutant that causes 1+ million premature deaths every year and millions more chronic diseases.

28-34x

as efficient as CO₂ at trapping atmospheric heat

60%+

of emissions are caused by human activities

80x

more warming potential than CO₂ in its first 20 years in the atmosphere

Why target San Joaquin Valley?

Satellite data from NASA scientists and the University of Michigan found a large methane hot spot – one of the largest in the U.S. – over the San Joaquin Valley in California, indicating the presence of methane “super-emitters” in the Valley’s oil and gas, dairy, and waste management industries.

80%

of methane emissions in California come from a relatively small number of powerful “super-emitters”

Project Objectives

SUMMATION aims to reduce the rate of global warming by improving the speed and accuracy of methane emissions detection and mitigation.

Pinpoint
the locations of super-emitters.

Address
the nature of intermittent sources using a network of observation towers.

Attribute
sources of the gas since it has different characteristics depending on its origin.

Bring
accuracy to methane emissions accounting to avoid underestimating emissions.

Explore
expanding these technologies to address issues in other areas.

Pinpoint
the locations of super-emitters.

Address
the nature of intermittent sources using a network of observation towers.

Attribute
sources of the gas since it has different characteristics depending on its origin.

Bring
accuracy to methane emissions accounting to avoid underestimating emissions.

Explore expanding these technologies to address issues in other areas.

What this means for our climate

With the ability to pinpoint and monitor super-emitters in California and beyond, we can considerably reduce the rate of methane emissions, producing a rapid and significant impact on atmospheric warming potential and overall public health.