The State of California is now using a satellite to spot greenhouse gas emissions from space, and one of the first problems it has pinpointed is in Yolo County.

Trucks dump tons of trash each day at the county landfill near the city of Davis. All that waste is buried underground, where it produces methane.

Landfill director Marissa Juhler says the facility has more than 150 extraction wells to capture methane, so it doesn't escape into the atmosphere.

"There are greenhouse gases like methane that are really detrimental to the environment," Juhler said.

However, sensors onboard the state's new satellite spotted a plume of methane gas leaking from the landfill and drifting over nearby farmland.

Landfill crews actually spotted the leak a day earlier, which was caused by a broken well cap

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