NASA scientists have utilized a tool originally designed to study the impact of dust on climate to identify over 50 super-emission points of methane around the globe.
In a statement released on October 25, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reported that 50 “super-emission” points of methane are located in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the southwestern United States. Most of these sites are associated with activities in fossil fuel extraction, waste management, or agriculture.
Methane plume detected by NASA’s equipment in the Carlsbad area of New Mexico, USA – (Photo: AFP)
The identification of these points was made possible by a device from the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) project of NASA. This device was recently installed on the International Space Station (ISS) in July.
The purpose of EMIT is to determine whether dust in the atmosphere in various regions around the world can trap or deflect heat from the Sun, thereby contributing to warming or cooling the planet.
According to NASA, the detection of super-emission points of methane by the EMIT device was beyond its original intent but is highly significant for the fight against climate change.
“This new and exciting development not only helps researchers better identify where methane emissions are coming from but also provides insights into how the issue can be addressed quickly,” explained NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in the statement on October 25.
According to scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Los Angeles, where the device was designed and built, methane absorbs infrared light in a unique pattern that the EMIT spectrometer can easily detect.
EMIT can scan vast areas of the Earth’s surface but can also focus on smaller regions equivalent to the size of a football field.
Andrew Thorpe, a researcher at JPL, noted that EMIT has detected several unprecedented large methane plumes. For instance, a methane plume approximately 3.3 kilometers long was discovered southeast of Carlsbad in New Mexico, one of the world’s most oil-rich areas.
Another plume nearly 5 kilometers long was detected by EMIT south of Tehran, Iran, originating from a large-scale waste processing facility.
Methane is responsible for about 30% of the global temperature increase to date. This gas exists in the atmosphere in much smaller quantities than CO2 due to its shorter lifespan (about 10 years) but is significantly more potent than CO2.
Scientists hope that reducing methane levels in the atmosphere will help lower Earth’s temperatures, contributing to slowing down the warming process that leads to other climate changes.
