Methodology · Imaging spectroscopy

SWIR absorption - regional flux

Estimates area-integrated greenhouse gas flux over agricultural, wetland, or basin-scale regions; good for national inventory support and carbon accounting.

How it works

Aggregates column concentration retrievals across wide swaths to derive net flux estimates. Requires consistent cross-track radiometric calibration. [Wikipedia: Greenhouse gas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas)

Topics this serves

Greenhouse gas inventory well suited
Methane (CH4) adequate

Existing implementations

Demonstrated

EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation Imaging Spectrometer)

Capable, undemonstrated

None on record.

Related methodologies

SWIR absorption - point-source

Detects gas absorption features (CH4, CO2, CO) at SWIR wavelengths from a single point or facility source; good for industrial emissions monitoring and leak detection.
SWIR absorption - global screening

Wide-area survey for anomalous methane or CO2 concentrations at coarse spatial resolution; good for prioritising follow-up with finer sensors.
Hyperspectral classification

Identifies surface materials or land-cover classes from full spectral fingerprints; good for geology, vegetation stress, and mineralogy mapping.

Sources

[wikipedia]Wikipedia: Greenhouse gascommunityaccessed 2026-05-22

Methodology

Edited from public sources. Last reviewed date pending by SpectraWorks editorial. See the data dictionary for field definitions.

Cite or share

https://eo-atlas.org/topics/methodologies/swir-absorption-regional-flux

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