Cutting methane emissions is an important way to fight climate change. In the U.S., about one-third of human-caused methane emissions comes from oil and natural gas operations. A large share of this comes from 'midstream' operations, where oil and gas are gathered and pumped through pipelines. Because of the amount of oil and gas being passed through these facilities, they often release large amounts of methane, but measuring those emissions has been difficult because the facilities are large and emissions can rise high into the air.

This study tested how well drones can measure methane at these sites and compared the results to aircraft-based laser measurements. Two drone-based methods were used: one that compares methane to a tracer gas and another that builds a 2D map of emissions. The drone carried small sensors to detect methane and other gases. We tested these methods at eight midstream sites in Colorado and Wyoming. Our results show that drones can be a useful tool for measuring methane emissions.