Metaspectral, a software company, has received funding as part of the smartEarth Canadian Space Agency initiative to build a method to systematically and methodically quantify the carbon dioxide (CO2) levels present at ground-elevation using hyperspectral data.
Metaspectral has created a hybrid on-premise and cloud-based software platform that is used in a variety of industries to identify materials and their characteristics that are otherwise invisible.
“Reaching our climate goals will require access to the best available data on emissions levels. Our technology makes it possible to track and measure carbon emissions and carbon sequestration levels at Earth’s surface,” said Metaspectral co-founder and CTO, Migel Tissera. “We achieve this by analyzing hyperspectral satellite imagery, which contains data from across the electromagnetic spectrum, making it possible to identify and quantify the gasses present.”
Preliminary analysis of the data that is captured by satellites and processed using the platform has been shown to accurately measure global carbon emissions within a 3% margin of error.
“Climate change is the most serious threat facing humanity,” said Tissera. “Many governments, including the Canadian government, have introduced pricing mechanisms for carbon emissions. This technology will make it possible to provide both the public and private sectors with the insights needed to adjust their environmental and climate change policies and plans, as well as reap the potential economic benefits of carbon credits.”
Accurate, real-time data on GHG levels on the Earth’s surface has a multitude of potential applications including environmental monitoring (soils, forests, sea ice levels, and more), and can also help to measure emissions from oil and gas pipelines, leaks from deepwater drilling activity, and monitor for other hazards.
This project is being undertaken with the financial support of the Canadian Space Agency.
Metaspectral is currently hiring deep-learning engineers and scientists, remote sensing scientists, and full-stack engineers. A full list of available positions is available at Metaspectral.com.
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