Google Creates Search Engine for Methane Thanks to NASA

Google and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently premiered a brand new artificial intelligence model with the purpose of tracking global methane emissions from space.

The model, called MAPL-EMIT, was introduced in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in September 2026.

Google and NASA say that the model would make “methane sources easier to find at scale” and enable “faster, more targeted climate mitigation," and was reportedly found to detect 50% more methane leaks than human experts.

The Methane Analysis and Plume Localization (MAPL) monitors methane emissions using NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) instrument. EMIT is an advanced imaging spectrometer attached to the exterior of the International Space Station.

“Methane is one of our fastest and most effective opportunities to slow global warming, but it’s also one of the toughest challenges to mitigate and track because it’s invisible to the human eye,” says Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google, on LinkedIn. “Using Google’s machine learning and data from NASA’s EMIT instrument on the International Space Station, MAPL-EMIT helps accurately detect, enhance prediction and estimate the source of methane plumes globally.

While EMIT was originally designed to map mineral composition in arid regions, its hyperspectral capabilities can also identify the chemical signature of methane. The instrument records hundreds of distinct bands of light for each pixel, allowing researchers to detect methane that cannot be seen through conventional imagery. EMIT combines an 80km field of view with 60-metre spatial resolution, making it suited to identifying emissions from individual facilities. 

According to Waste Dive Magazine, MAPL-EMIT’s AI model was trained on 3.6 million physics-simulated methane plumes — clouds of methane gas released into the atmosphere — to help it see through complex, cluttered landscapes. As a result, the researchers found that it can uncover over 23,000 hidden methane plumes globally, which include 24 of the 25 largest-emitting landfills in the world.

This could be a game changer for landfill and solid waste operations, especially since municipal solid waste landfills rank as the third-largest source of methane emissions generated from human activities in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency.