- The CoMet 3.0 Tropics field measurement campaign has been successfully completed with the return of HALO to Oberpfaffenhofen: 18 research flights, 14 of which were from Cuiabá, Brazil, totalling around 150 flight hours.
- The result is a unique dataset comprising measurements of greenhouse gases and associated parameters. Researchers will be working with this dataset in the coming years.
- The data provide reference values for the validation of satellite missions such as MERLIN, CO2M, Sentinel-5, GOSAT-2 and GOSAT-GW. Furthermore, they enable the distinction between natural and anthropogenic sources of methane and contribute to the development of an MRV (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification) system for greenhouse gas emissions.
From 25 July to 6 September 2026, the unique scientific instrumentation on board the German research aircraft HALO measured methane and carbon dioxide over the wetlands of South America. The flights took place over the Amazon, the Pantanal (Portuguese for ‘wetland’), the Cerrado wet savannah and – for the first time for HALO – to Bolivia, over the wetlands of the Llanos de Moxos.
In these areas, due to the persistent dampness, hardly any oxygen reaches the soil. The microorganisms living there therefore break down dead plants without oxygen, producing methane (CH₄) in the process. This process is particularly efficient at high tropical temperatures. Wetlands are thus the Earth’s largest natural source of methane and represent the greatest uncertainty in global methane budgets.
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