Characterization and Quantification of Methane Emission Plumes and Super-Emitter Detection Across North-Central Brazil Using Hyperspectral Satellite Data

Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas and a key target for near-term climate mitigation, yet major uncertainties remain in quantifying emissions from landfills, particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions of the Global South. Here, we present a systematic satellite-based assessment of CH4 emissions from landfills and related sites across northern and central Brazil, based on plume detections from the Carbon Mapper public data portal. Using imaging spectroscopy data from the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) onboard the International Space Station and the dedicated Tanager-1 satellite, we analyzed 40 plume detections across 16 sites in nine Brazilian states spanning the Amazon forest biome and the Cerrado transition region. An adaptive thresholding algorithm was applied to each detection to quantify plume strength (ppm·m3), areal extent, and recurrence across multiple overpasses. Our results reveal a strongly heavy-tailed distribution of emissions, with most sites exhibiting modest plume strengths in the 106–107 ppm·m3 range, while a small number of facilities dominated the upper tail. Two detections at Brasília (2.22 × 108 and 2.14 × 108 ppm·m3) and one at Marituba (1.66 × 108 ppm·m3) were classified as super-emitters, exceeding all other sites by more than an order of magnitude. These facilities also demonstrated high persistence across overpasses, in contrast to smaller landfills such as Macapá and Boa Vista, where emissions were weaker (<107 ppm·m3) and episodic. Regional contrasts were also evident: sites in the Cerrado transition zone, (e.g., Brasília, Campo Grande) generally showed stronger and more frequent emissions than those in the Amazon basin. These findings underscore the disproportionate role of a few persistent super-emitters in shaping the regional CH4 budget. Targeted mitigation at these high-impact sites could yield rapid and cost-effective emission reductions, directly supporting Brazil’s commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Global CH4 Pledge. More broadly, this study demonstrates the power of high-resolution satellite imaging spectroscopy for identifying, monitoring, and prioritizing CH4 mitigation opportunities in the waste sector.