NASA scientists have discovered substantial methane leaks at more than 50 locations worldwide using a method designed to study the effects of dust on climate. This finding might help in the battle against the potent greenhouse gas.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated in a news statement on Tuesday that ‘restraining methane emissions is crucial to minimising global warming.’
Thanks to this fascinating new discovery, researchers will be better able to pinpoint where methane leaks are occurring, which will also help them comprehend how to immediately address them.
The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT), according to NASA, aims to increase understanding of how atmospheric dust influences climate.
However, EMIT, which was installed on the International Space Station in July and has the ability to focus on areas as small as a soccer field, has also shown that it can detect the presence of methane.
According to NASA, the current locations of methane ‘super-emitters’ include Central Asia, the Middle East, and the southwestern United States. Most of them work in the waste management, farming, or fossil fuel industries.
Methane is responsible for about 30% of the current increase in global temperatures.
On a century-long time frame, it is around 28 times more potent than a greenhouse gas, although being far less prevalent in the environment than CO2. It had an 80-fold increase in power over 20 years.
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