Research and analysis: Validation of landfill methane measurements from an unmanned aerial system

Landfill gas is made up of roughly equal amounts of methane and carbon dioxide. Modern UK landfills capture and use much of the methane gas as a fuel. But some methane escapes and is emitted to the atmosphere. Methane is an important greenhouse gas and controls on methane emissions are a part of international and national strategies to limit climate change. Better estimates of methane emissions from landfills and other similar sources would allow the UK to improve the quantification and control of greenhouse gas emissions.

This project tested the accuracy of methane measurement using an unmanned aerial system (UAS). We released known amounts of methane and measured these emissions using an UAS. The UAS experiments successfully measured the methane releases. The measured methane emission, taking into account the uncertainty in the measurements, always overlapped with the controlled methane emission release.