Daniel Jacob

Flux Inversion Lead

Harvard
Github website OrcidID

Daniel Jacob is the Vasco McCoy Family Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Engineering at Harvard and works on interpretation of satellite observations of atmospheric composition.

Education

  • PhD in Environmental Engineering | Caltech | 1980 - 1985
  • Ingenieur Chimiste | ESPCI Paris | 1977-1980

Professional Experience

  • 1994-present: Professor, Harvard
  • 1992-1994: Associate Professor, Harvard
  • 1987-1992: Assistant Professor, Harvard
  • 1985- 1987: Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard\

References

Alvarez, Ramon A., Daniel Zavala-Araiza, David R. Lyon, David T. Allen, Zachary R. Barkley, Adam R. Brandt, Kenneth J. Davis, et al. 2018. “Assessment of Methane Emissions from the US Oil and Gas Supply Chain.” SCIENCE 361 (6398): 186–88. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar7204.
Balasus, Nicholas, Daniel J. Jacob, Alba Lorente, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, Zichong Chen, Makoto M. Kelp, Hannah Nesser, and Daniel J. Varon. 2023. “A Blended TROPOMI CGOSAT Satellite Data Product for Atmospheric Methane Using Machine Learning to Correct Retrieval Biases.” ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES 16 (16): 3787–807. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3787-2023.
Chen, Zichong, Nicholas Balasus, Haipeng Lin, Hannah Nesser, and Daniel J. Jacob. 2024. “African Rice Cultivation Linked to Rising Methane.” NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE 14 (2): 126–33. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01907-x.
Chen, Zichong, Daniel J. Jacob, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Robert N. Stavins, Robert C. Stowe, Hannah Nesser, et al. 2023. “Satellite Quantification of Methane Emissions and Oil-Gas Methaneintensities from Individual Countries in the Middle East and North Africa:implications for Climate Action.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 23 (10): 5945–67. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5945-2023.
Cusworth, Daniel H., A. Anthony Bloom, Shuang Ma, Charles E. Miller, Kevin Bowman, Yi Yin, Joannes D. Maasakkers, et al. 2021. “A Bayesian Framework for Deriving Sector-Based Methane Emissions from Top-down Fluxes.” COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT 2 (1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00312-6.
Cusworth, Daniel H., Riley M. Duren, Andrew K. Thorpe, Sudhanshu Pandey, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Ilse Aben, Dylan Jervis, et al. 2021. “Multisatellite Imaging of a Gas Well Blowout Enables Quantification of Total Methane Emissions.” GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 48 (2). https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL090864.
Cusworth, Daniel H., Daniel J. Jacob, Jian-Xiong Sheng, Joshua Benmergui, Alexander J. Turner, Jeremy Brandman, Laurent White, and Cynthia A. Randles. 2018. “Detecting High-Emitting Methane Sources in Oil/Gas Fields Using Satellite Observations.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 18 (23): 16885–96. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16885-2018.
Cusworth, Daniel H., Daniel J. Jacob, Daniel J. Varon, Christopher Chan Miller, Xiong Liu, Kelly Chance, Andrew K. Thorpe, et al. 2019. “Potential of Next-Generation Imaging Spectrometers to Detect and Quantify Methane Point Sources from Space.” ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES 12 (10): 5655–68. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5655-2019.
Delwiche, Kyle B., John A. Harrison, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Melissa P. Sulprizio, John Worden, Daniel J. Jacob, and Elsie M. Sunderland. 2022. “Estimating Driver and Pathways for Hydroelectric Reservoir Methane Emissions Using a New Mechanistic Model.” JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES 127 (8). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG006908.
Gordon, Deborah, Frances Reuland, Daniel J. Jacob, John R. Worden, Drew Shindell, and Mark Dyson. 2023. “Evaluating Net Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensities from Gas and Coal at Varying Methane Leakage Rates.” ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS 18 (8). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ace3db.
Irakulis-Loitxate, Itziar, Luis Guanter, Yin-Nian Liu, Daniel J. Varon, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Yuzhong Zhang, Apisada Chulakadabba, et al. 2021. “Satellite-Based Survey of Extreme Methane Emissions in the Permian Basin.” SCIENCE ADVANCES 7 (27). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf4507.
Jacob, Daniel J., Alexander J. Turner, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Jianxiong Sheng, Kang Sun, Xiong Liu, Kelly Chance, Ilse Aben, Jason McKeever, and Christian Frankenberg. 2016. “Satellite Observations of Atmospheric Methane and Their Value for Quantifying Methane Emissions.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 16 (22): 14371–96. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14371-2016.
Jacob, Daniel J., Daniel J. Varon, Daniel H. Cusworth, Philip E. Dennison, Christian Frankenberg, Ritesh Gautam, Luis Guanter, et al. 2022. “Quantifying Methane Emissions from the Global Scale down to Point Sources Using Satellite Observations of Atmospheric Methane.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 22 (14): 9617–46. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9617-2022.
Lu, Xiao, Daniel J. Jacob, Yuzhong Zhang, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, et al. 2021. “Global Methane Budget and Trend, 2010-2017: Complementarity of Inverse Analyses Using in Situ (GLOBALVIEWplus CH<sub>4</Sub> ObsPack) and Satellite (GOSAT) Observations.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 21 (6): 4637–57. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4637-2021.
Lu, Xiao, Danile J. Jacob, Yuzhong Zhang, Lu Shen, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Daniel J. Varon, et al. 2023. “Observation-Derived 2010-2019 Trends in Methane Emissions and Intensities from US Oil and Fields Tied to Metrics.” PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 120 (17). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2217900120.
Maasakkers, Joannes D., Daniel J. Jacob, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Tia R. Scarpelli, Hannah Nesser, Jian-Xiong Sheng, Yuzhong Zhang, et al. 2019. “Global Distribution of Methane Emissions, Emission Trends, and OH Concentrations and Trends Inferred from an Inversion of GOSAT Satellite Data for 2010-2015.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 19 (11): 7859–81. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7859-2019.
Maasakkers, Joannes D., Daniel J. Jacob, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Alexander J. Turner, Melissa Weitz, Tom Wirth, Cate Hight, et al. 2016. “Gridded National Inventory of US Methane Emissions.” ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 50 (23): 13123–33. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b02878.
Pickett-Heaps, C. A., D. J. Jacob, K. J. Wecht, E. A. Kort, S. C. Wofsy, G. S. Diskin, D. E. J. Worthy, J. O. Kaplan, I. Bey, and J. Drevet. 2011. “Magnitude and Seasonality of Wetland Methane Emissions from the Hudson Bay Lowlands (Canada).” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 11 (8): 3773–79. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-3773-2011.
Qu, Zhen, Daniel J. Jacob, Lu Shen, Xiao Lu, Yuzhong Zhang, Tia R. Scarpelli, Hannah Nesser, et al. 2021. “Global Distribution of Methane Emissions: A Comparative Inverse Analysis of Observations from the TROPOMI and GOSAT Satellite Instruments.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 21 (18): 14159–75. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14159-2021.
Qu, Zhen, Daniel J. Jacob, Yuzhong Zhang, Lu Shen, Daniel J. Varon, Xiao Lu, Tia Scarpelli, Anthony Bloom, John Worden, and Robert J. Parker. 2022. “Attribution of the 2020 Surge in Atmospheric Methane by Inverse Analysis of GOSAT Observations.” ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS 17 (9). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac8754.
Scarpelli, Tia R., Daniel J. Jacob, Michael Moran, Frances Reuland, and Deborah Gordon. 2022. “A Gridded Inventory of Canada’s Anthropogenic Methane Emissions.” ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS 17 (1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac40b1.
Scarpelli, Tia R., Daniel J. Jacob, Claudia A. Octaviano Villasana, Irma F. Ramirez Hernandez, Paulina R. Cardenas Moreno, Eunice A. Cortes Alfaro, Miguel A. Garcia Garcia, and Daniel Zavala-Araiza. 2020. “A Gridded Inventory of Anthropogenic Methane Emissions from Mexico Based on Mexico’s National Inventory of Greenhouse Gases and Compounds.” ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS 15 (10). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abb42b.
Shen, Lu, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Daniel Zavala-Araiza, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Tia R. Scarpelli, Alba Lorente, et al. 2022. “Satellite Quantification of Oil and Natural Gas Methane Emissions in the US and Canada Including Contributions from Individual Basins.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 22 (17): 11203–15. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11203-2022.
Shen, Lu, Daniel J. Jacob, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Tia R. Scarpelli, Alba Lorente, Daniel Zavala-Araiza, Xiao Lu, Zichong Chen, and Jintai Lin. 2023. “National Quantifications of Methane Emissions from Fuel Exploitation Using High Resolution Inversions of Satellite Observations.” NATURE COMMUNICATIONS 14 (1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40671-6.
Shen, Lu, Daniel Zavala-Araiza, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Tia Scarpelli, Jianxiong Sheng, Melissa P. Sulprizio, et al. 2021. “Unravelling a Large Methane Emission Discrepancy in Mexico Using Satellite Observations.” REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT 260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112461.
Sheng, Jian-Xiong, Daniel J. Jacob, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Daniel Zavala-Araiza, and Steven P. Hamburg. 2017. “A High-Resolution (0.1° x 0.1°) Inventory of Methane Emissions from Canadian and Mexican Oil and Gas Systems.” ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT 158 (June): 211–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.02.036.
Sheng, Jian-Xiong, Daniel J. Jacob, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Yuzhong Zhang, and Melissa P. Sulprizio. 2018. “Comparative Analysis of Low-Earth Orbit (TROPOMI) and Geostationary (GeoCARB, GEO-CAPE) Satellite Instruments for Constraining Methane Emissions on Fine Regional Scales: Application to the Southeast US.” ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES 11 (12): 6379–88. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6379-2018.
Sheng, Jian-Xiong, Daniel J. Jacob, Alexander J. Turner, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Joshua Benmergui, A. Anthony Bloom, Claudia Arndt, et al. 2018. “2010-2016 Methane Trends over Canada, the United States, and Mexico Observed by the GOSAT Satellite: Contributions from Different Source Sectors.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 18 (16): 12257–67. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12257-2018.
Sheng, Jian-Xiong, Daniel J. Jacob, Alexander J. Turner, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Melissa P. Sulprizio, A. Anthony Bloom, Arlyn E. Andrews, and Debra Wunch. 2018. “High-Resolution Inversion of Methane Emissions in the Southeast US Using SEAC<SUP>4</SUP>RS Aircraft Observations of Atmospheric Methane: Anthropogenic and Wetland Sources.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 18 (9): 6483–91. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6483-2018.
STAFFELBACH, T, A NEFTEL, B STAUFFER, and D JACOB. 1991. “A RECORD OF THE ATMOSPHERIC METHANE SINK FROM FORMALDEHYDE IN POLAR ICE CORES.” NATURE 349 (6310): 603–5. https://doi.org/10.1038/349603a0.
Turner, A. J., D. J. Jacob, J. Benmergui, S. C. Wofsy, J. D. Maasakkers, A. Butz, O. Hasekamp, and S. C. Biraud. 2016. “A Large Increase in US Methane Emissions over the Past Decade Inferred from Satellite Data and Surface Observations.” GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 43 (5): 2218–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL067987.
Turner, A. J., D. J. Jacob, K. J. Wecht, J. D. Maasakkers, E. Lundgren, A. E. Andrews, S. C. Biraud, et al. 2015. “Estimating Global and North American Methane Emissions with High Spatial Resolution Using GOSAT Satellite Data.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 15 (12): 7049–69. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7049-2015.
Turner, Alexander J., Christian Frankenbergb, Paul O. Wennberg, and Daniel J. Jacob. 2017. “Ambiguity in the Causes for Decadal Trends in Atmospheric Methane and Hydroxyl.” PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 114 (21): 5367–72. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1616020114.
Varon, D. J., J. McKeever, D. Jervis, J. D. Maasakkers, S. Pandey, S. Houweling, I. Aben, T. Scarpelli, and D. J. Jacob. 2019. “Satellite Discovery of Anomalously Large Methane Point Sources from Oil/Gas Production.” GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 46 (22): 13507–16. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083798.
Varon, Daniel J., Daniel J. Jacob, Benjamin Hmiel, Ritesh Gautam, David R. Lyon, Mark Omara, Melissa Sulprizio, et al. 2023. “Continuous Weekly Monitoring of Methane Emissions from the Permian Basin by Inversion of TROPOMI Satellite Observations.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 23 (13): 7503–20. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7503-2023.
Varon, Daniel J., Daniel J. Jacob, Dylan Jervis, and Jason McKeever. 2020. “Quantifying Time-Averaged Methane Emissions from Individual Coal Mine Vents with GHGSat-d Satellite Observations.” ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 54 (16): 10246–53. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c01213.
Varon, Daniel J., Daniel J. Jacob, Jason McKeever, Dylan Jervis, Berke O. A. Durak, Yan Xia, and Yi Huang. 2018. “Quantifying Methane Point Sources from Fine-Scale Satellite Observations of Atmospheric Methane Plumes.” ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES 11 (10): 5673–86. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5673-2018.
Varon, Daniel J., Daniel J. Jacob, Melissa Sulprizio, Lucas A. Estrada, William B. Downs, Lu Shen, Sarah E. Hancock, et al. 2022. “Integrated Methane Inversion (IMI 1.0): A User-Friendly, Cloud-Based Facility for Inferring High-Resolution Methane Emissions from TROPOMI Satellite Observations.” GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT 15 (14): 5787–5805. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5787-2022.
Varon, Daniel J., Dylan Jervis, Jason McKeever, Ian Spence, David Gains, and Daniel J. Jacob. 2021. “High-Frequency Monitoring of Anomalous Methane Point Sources with Multispectral Sentinel-2 Satellite Observations.” ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES 14 (4): 2771–85. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2771-2021.
Wecht, K. J., D. J. Jacob, M. P. Sulprizio, G. W. Santoni, S. C. Wofsy, R. Parker, H. Boesch, and J. Worden. 2014. “Spatially Resolving Methane Emissions in California: Constraints from the CalNex Aircraft Campaign and from Present (GOSAT, TES) and Future (TROPOMI, Geostationary) Satellite Observations.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 14 (15): 8173–84. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8173-2014.
Wecht, K. J., D. J. Jacob, S. C. Wofsy, E. A. Kort, J. R. Worden, S. S. Kulawik, D. K. Henze, M. Kopacz, and V. H. Payne. 2012. “Validation of TES Methane with HIPPO Aircraft Observations: Implications for Inverse Modeling of Methane Sources.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 12 (4): 1823–32. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-1823-2012.
Worden, John R., Sudhanshu Pandey, Yuzhong Zhang, Daniel H. Cusworth, Zhen Qu, A. Anthony Bloom, Shuang Ma, et al. 2023. “Verifying Methane Inventories and Trends with Atmospheric Methane Data.” AGU ADVANCES 4 (4). https://doi.org/10.1029/2023AV000871.
Yin, Yi, Frederic Chevallier, Philippe Ciais, Philippe Bousquet, Marielle Saunois, Bo Zheng, John Worden, et al. 2021. “Accelerating Methane Growth Rate from 2010 to 2017: Leading Contributions from the Tropics and East Asia.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 21 (16): 12631–47. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12631-2021.
Zhang, Yuzhong, Ritesh Gautam, Sudhanshu Pandey, Mark Omara, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Pankaj Sadavarte, David Lyon, et al. 2020. “Quantifying Methane Emissions from the Largest Oil-Producing Basin in the United States from Space.” SCIENCE ADVANCES 6 (17). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz5120.
Zhang, Yuzhong, Daniel J. Jacob, Xiao Lu, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Tia R. Scarpelli, Jian-Xiong Sheng, Lu Shen, et al. 2021. “Attribution of the Accelerating Increase in Atmospheric Methane During 2010-2018 by Inverse Analysis of GOSAT Observations.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 21 (5): 3643–66. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3643-2021.
Zhang, Yuzhong, Daniel J. Jacob, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Jian-Xiong Sheng, Ritesh Gautam, and John Worden. 2018. “Monitoring Global Tropospheric OH Concentrations Using Satellite Observations of Atmospheric Methane.” ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 18 (21): 15959–73. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15959-2018.