Ci ho pensato e non ho trovato nessun motivo “sociale” per cui discutere questa cosa su un forum generalista tipo Agorà, quindi finisce qua, perche’ e’ affascinante vedere un utilizzo sensato delle AI per una volta, che va oltre alle solite polemiche.
Estratto dell’articolo:
- Google will use satellite data, AI technology, and its computing power to map methane emissions.
- Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that’s responsible for nearly a third of global warming.
- Nearly 40% of manmade methane comes from oil, gas, and coal operations.
A satellite that measures methane leaks from oil and gas companies is set to start circulating the Earth 15 times a day next month. Google plans to have the data mapped by the end of the year for the whole world to see.The partnership between Google and the Environmental Defense Fund, which in March is expected to launch its satellite known as MethaneSAT, marks a new era of global climate accountability. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas estimated to be responsible for nearly a third of human-caused global warming. Scientists say slashing emissions is one of the fastest ways to slow the climate crisis because methane has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a decade.
“Globally, 2023 was the hottest year on record,” Steve Hamburg, the EDF’s chief scientist and project lead for MethaneSAT, told reporters. “The need to protect the climate has never been more urgent, and cutting methane emissions from fossil-fuel operations and agriculture is really the fastest way that we can slow the warming right now.”
Agriculture — particularly cow burps — gets a lot of the blame for the methane problem. The International Energy Agency has said farming is the largest source of emissions from human activities, but the energy sector is a close second. Oil, gas, and coal operations are thought to account for 40% of global methane emissions from human activities. Focusing on the energy sector should be a priority, the IEA said, in part because reducing methane leaks is cost-effective. Leaking gas can be captured and sold, and the technology to do that is relatively cheap.
But methane has been difficult to track in near real time. MethaneSAT is among a new generation of satellites designed to pinpoint sources of the gas almost anywhere in the world, while Google has the computing power and AI prowess to analyze vast amounts of data and map oil and gas infrastructure.
Historically, measuring methane leaks has involved expensive field studies with airplanes and handheld infrared cameras. That approach offers only a snapshot in time, and research took years to be published.
Mapping oil and gas operations was similarly challenging, said Yael Maguire, a vice president and general manager of sustainability at Google Geo — the team behind platforms like Google Maps and Street View. The locations of wellheads, industrial pumps, and storage tanks can change quickly, so a map needs to be updated regularly. A satellite can meet that demand.
Maguire said the same AI technology that Google uses to detect trees, crosswalks, and intersections from satellite imagery would be applied to oil and gas infrastructure. The map would be overlaid with data from MethaneSAT to shed light on the type of machinery most susceptible to leaks.
“We think this information is incredibly valuable for energy companies, researchers, and the public sector to anticipate and mitigate methane emissions in components that are generally most susceptible,” Maguire said.
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