Tanager-1 Satellite Records 7.4 Tonnes of Methane Per Hour at Landfill Near Istanbul

Satellite observations have detected significant methane emissions at the Seymen landfill located west of Istanbul, where organic waste decomposition gas is utilized for electricity generation. As reported by ua.news with reference to TimesLIVE, data analysis from the Tanager-1 satellite showed that the average recorded emission rate at the site was approximately 7.4 tonnes of methane per hour ua.newsua.newsua.newsOpen source ↗.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, examined open Carbon Mapper data gathered between January 2025 and late May 2026. The team mapped 70 methane plumes across ten Turkish waste management facilities showing the highest emission levels. The detected emission rates across these locations ranged from 841 kilograms to 7.4 tonnes per hour, with three sites situated around Istanbul and others near Ankara, Izmir, and Antalya.

Operations at the Seymen Facility

At the Seymen facility, municipal operator Istac captures landfill gas to feed a power generation plant commissioned in 2020. Data from the industry publication Enerji Gunlugu indicates that the plant generates roughly 22,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per month. However, orbital spectroscopy reveals substantial gas bypasses into the surrounding atmosphere.

Representatives from Istac argued that orbital observations do not reflect consistent site-wide emissions, stating typical releases range from four to six tonnes per hour. The elevated average resulted from a single 12-tonne measurement taken when approximately 30 hectares lacked cover during pipe maintenance on the gas collection system under low atmospheric pressure conditions.

National Emissions Context

Turkey's Environment Ministry stated that periodic satellite observations cannot serve as continuous measurements to estimate annual emission totals at Seymen. Climate TRACE metrics indicate Turkey ranks fifth globally in solid waste methane emissions, following China, the United States, Russia, and Brazil ua.newsua.newsua.newsOpen source ↗.

World Bank data derived from the European Commission EDGAR database notes that Turkey's waste-derived methane emissions increased by nearly 25% in the decade leading to 2024, contrasted with a 6.5% global increase. Turkey is currently not a participant in the Global Methane Pledge, which aims for a collective 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030 relative to 2020 baselines.