Youmi Oh
Research Scientist | CIRES, University of Colorado Boulder & NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory
CIRES & NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory
325 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80305
Understanding the changing global methane cycle through observations, isotopes, satellites, process-based models, and artificial intelligence.
Methane is responsible for nearly one-third of present-day global warming, yet its sources, sinks, and climate feedbacks remain among the largest uncertainties in the Earth system. My research seeks to understand how the global methane cycle is changing and to identify the natural and anthropogenic processes driving those changes.
To address these questions, I integrate atmospheric observations, stable isotope measurements, satellite retrievals, atmospheric inverse modeling, process-based ecosystem models, and artificial intelligence. By combining complementary observations with process-based and data-driven approaches, I develop next-generation frameworks to better quantify methane sources and sinks, reduce uncertainties in the global methane budget, and improve our understanding of carbon–climate feedbacks.
I co-lead the development of CarbonTracker-CH₄, NOAA’s global atmospheric methane data assimilation system, and founded and co-lead AI4Methane, an international collaborative network advancing artificial intelligence for methane science.
news
| Aug 21, 2026 | 🌱🌎 Our global soil sink paper was featured in Eos! The Eos Research Spotlight, “It Takes Three to Model Methane Right,” highlights our recently published paper in JGR: Biogeosciences. Many thanks to Eos for highlighting our work and to all of our co-authors and collaborators! 📄 Read the Eos Spotlight |
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| Jul 31, 2026 | 📰 Our recent Nature Communications study on the drivers of the global methane surge was featured in a NOAA Research press release. The study highlights the growing role of microbial methane emissions and demonstrates how atmospheric methane and stable isotope observations improve our understanding of recent methane increases. 📰 Read the NOAA Research press release |
| Jul 17, 2026 | 🌎 Our invited article on the global methane soil sink has been published in JGR: Biogeosciences. The study shows that terrestrial methane uptake is substantially larger than previously estimated, with important implications for the global methane budget. 📄 Read the paper |
| Jul 10, 2026 | 🎥 The recording of my ESIIL Environmental Data Science Seminar is now available! The seminar highlights how artificial intelligence, atmospheric observations, and process-based models can be integrated to improve estimates of global natural methane fluxes. 🎥 Watch the seminar |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 🎉 Our paper, “Isotopic constraints in methane inversions reveal larger wetland emissions with improved linkage to terrestrial water storage,” has been published in Nature Communications! The study shows how atmospheric methane and stable isotope observations improve estimates of global methane emissions and their recent increase. 📄 Read the paper |
