In this conversation, Tia Scarpelli discusses her journey in climate research, focusing on methane emissions from landfills and the complexities of solid waste management. She highlights the importance of understanding methane generation, the role of remote sensing in emission detection, and the challenges of measuring emissions accurately. The discussion also covers mitigation strategies for landfills and the need for effective stakeholder engagement to drive action towards reducing methane emissions.

Keywords

climate change, methane emissions, landfills, remote sensing, environmental engineering, solid waste management, greenhouse gases, emission detection, waste reduction, sustainability

Chapters

03:30 The Importance of Landfills and Methane Emissions

12:09 Understanding Landfill Composition and Methane Generation

20:15 Modeling Methane Emissions from Landfills

25:30 Research and Measurement Challenges in Landfill Emissions

26:57 Measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions

31:14 The Role of Remote Sensing in Emission Detection

35:24 Confidence in Remote Measurements

39:58 Mitigation Strategies for Landfills

46:56 CarbonMapper's Goals and Stakeholder Engagement

In this conversation, Sean Crowell interviews Aitor Morinigo, CEO of Satlantis, about the company's innovative approach to remote sensing and methane detection. Aitor shares his background in mechanical engineering and his journey from working in large corporations to leading a startup focused on satellite technology. The discussion covers the evolution of Satlantis, its partnerships with companies like Encino Environmental Services, and the importance of understanding customer needs in the oil and gas industry. Aitor also highlights the challenges of methane detection and the innovative technologies being developed to address these issues, like polarization sensitivity and higher spatial resolution in their next generation of sensors.

Keywords

Satlantis, remote sensing, methane detection, satellite technology, environmental monitoring, space industry, EO

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Aitor Morinigo and Sattlantis

02:10 Aitor's Journey into Remote Sensing and Engineering

04:41 Transition from Traditional to New Space

07:01 The Importance of Business Acumen in Engineering

08:29 Overview of Sattlantis and Its Mission

10:13 Sattlantis' Shift to Data Solutions

12:58 Partnership with Encino and Industry Insights

15:21 Innovative Technology for Pipeline Monitoring

17:57 Multispectral Imaging and Its Advantages

20:10 Combining Technologies for Enhanced Detection

22:36 Business Model and Customer Engagement

25:09 Future Developments and Innovations at Sattlantis

In this episode, Sean leads us on a journey through the history of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory missions and the scientists whose work has utilized the data to find key insights about the natural and human-influenced carbon cycle.

This episode is being released due to the status of these missions being "on the chopping block" in the proposed NASA budget for 2026 by the Trump administration.

Keywords

carbon dioxide, climate change, Orbiting Carbon Observatory, NASA, greenhouse gases, carbon cycle, emissions measurement, Earth science, environmental monitoring, climate policy