They discovered more than 50 “super emitters” of methane on Earth from space » Science News

NASA’s investigation of the source of mineral dust from Earth’s surface aims to help scientists understand the effects of dust in the air on climate.

New NASA orbital instrument, designed primarily for Study of dust in the air and its effects On climate change, it has identified dozens of methane emitting hotspots around the world. The device, called the image spectrometer, detected more than 50 inchessuper emittersof methane – a greenhouse gas about 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere – has been in Central Asia, the Middle East and the southwestern United States since it was installed on the International Space Station (ISS) in July. These hotspots, some known and some recently discovered, include vast oil and gas stations and large landfills. Methane accounts for a fraction of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and persists compared to carbon dioxide, which remains in the atmosphere for centuries. Only for a decade, Which means that reducing its emissions will have a faster effect by reducing global warming.

The spectrometer is primarily designed for NASA’s Surface Mineral Dust Inquiry (EMIT), which aims to map the dispersal of major minerals in the dust-producing deserts of the planet, thus helping scientists to Understand its effects on climate. “Some EMIT columns [metano] The ones that have been discovered are among the largest ever, unlike anything ever seen from spacesaid Andrew Thorpe, a technical researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL, for its English acronym). These “super emitters” include a group of 12 pillars of Turkmenistan’s oil and gas infrastructure that scientists collectively estimate are emitting methane at an average rate. 50400 kg per hour. Two other large, previously unknown sources are an oil field in New Mexico (USA) and a waste treatment complex in Iran, which together roughly emit 29,000 kilograms of methane per hour. According to the space agency, EMIT will likely find hundreds of “super emitters” of methane before the end of its annual mission.