{"slug": "quantifying-ai-data-center-nitrogen-oxide-nox-emissions-from-space", "title": "Quantifying AI data center nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from space", "summary": "Satellite observations from NASA's TEMPO instrument detected nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from the SpaceXAI Colossus 2 power plant in Southaven, Mississippi, averaging 730±185 kg per hour after February 2026, roughly 16 times higher than the facility's March 2026 permit level of about 47 kg per hour. The study, posted on arXiv on August 23, 2026, found emissions were first detected in December 2025 at 460±180 kg per hour and increased through August 2026, highlighting a growing pollution concern from AI data center power demand.", "body_md": "# Physics > Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics\n\n[Submitted on 23 Aug 2026]\n\n# Title:Quantifying AI data center nitrogen oxide (NO$_x$) emissions from space\n\n[View PDF](/pdf/2608.22153)\n\n[HTML (experimental)](https://arxiv.org/html/2608.22153v1)\n\nAbstract:AI data center power demand is spurring rapid deployment of on- and near-site natural gas turbines. Nitrogen oxide (NO$_x$) pollution from this equipment is a growing concern but has not previously been quantified with atmospheric observations. Here we demonstrate space-based detection and quantification of NO$_x$ emissions from the SpaceXAI Colossus 2 power plant in Southaven, Mississippi. Using observations from the geostationary TEMPO satellite instrument, we detect a strong increase in local mean NO$_2$ column concentrations after the plant began operations in late 2025. We then use TEMPO to estimate two-week-average NO$_x$ source rates from August 2025 to mid-August 2026, calibrating against continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) data from US power plants. TEMPO first detected NO$_x$ emissions in December 2025 at 460$\\pm$180 kg h$^{-1}$. We find that emissions increased through August 2026, averaging 730$\\pm$185 kg h$^{-1}$ after February 2026, roughly 16 times higher than expected from the facility's March 2026 permit for 41 turbines operating under best available control technology (BACT) requirements ($\\sim$47 kg h$^{-1}$). Emissions at the expected level would be undetectable by our TEMPO analysis.\n\n### Current browse context:\n\nphysics.ao-ph\n\nChange to browse by:\n\n### References & Citations\n\nLoading...\n\n# Bibliographic and Citation Tools\n\nBibliographic Explorer\n\n*(*[What is the Explorer?](https://info.arxiv.org/labs/showcase.html#arxiv-bibliographic-explorer))\nConnected Papers\n\n*(*[What is Connected Papers?](https://www.connectedpapers.com/about))\nLitmaps\n\n*(*[What is Litmaps?](https://www.litmaps.co/))\nscite Smart Citations\n\n*(*[What are Smart Citations?](https://www.scite.ai/))# Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article\n\nalphaXiv\n\n*(*[What is alphaXiv?](https://alphaxiv.org/))\nCatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers\n\n*(*[What is CatalyzeX?](https://www.catalyzex.com))\nDagsHub\n\n*(*[What is DagsHub?](https://dagshub.com/))\nGotit.pub\n\n*(*[What is GotitPub?](http://gotit.pub/faq))\nHugging Face\n\n*(*[What is Huggingface?](https://huggingface.co/huggingface))\nScienceCast\n\n*(*[What is ScienceCast?](https://sciencecast.org/welcome))# Demos\n\n# Recommenders and Search Tools\n\nInfluence Flower\n\n*(*[What are Influence Flowers?](https://influencemap.cmlab.dev/))\nCORE Recommender\n\n*(*[What is CORE?](https://core.ac.uk/services/recommender))# arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators\n\narXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website.\n\nBoth individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.\n\nHave an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? [ Learn more about arXivLabs](https://info.arxiv.org/labs/index.html).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/quantifying-ai-data-center-nitrogen-oxide-nox-emissions-from-space", "canonical_source": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.22153", "published_at": "2026-08-26 11:02:11+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-26 11:16:34.072858+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["TEMPO", "SpaceXAI", "Colossus 2", "Southaven", "Mississippi", "NASA", "arXiv"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/quantifying-ai-data-center-nitrogen-oxide-nox-emissions-from-space", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/quantifying-ai-data-center-nitrogen-oxide-nox-emissions-from-space.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/quantifying-ai-data-center-nitrogen-oxide-nox-emissions-from-space.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/quantifying-ai-data-center-nitrogen-oxide-nox-emissions-from-space.jsonld"}}