Methane surge needs 'urgent attention'

[nitpicker]

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38285300

Methane surge needs 'urgent attention'

By Jonathan Amos
BBC Science Correspondent, San Francisco

7 hours ago

From the section Science & Environment


Scientists say they are concerned at the rate at which methane in the atmosphere is now rising. After a period of relative stagnation in the 2000s, the concentration of the gas has surged. Methane (CH4) is a smaller component than carbon dioxide (CO2) but drives a more potent greenhouse effect.

Researchers warn that efforts to tackle climate change will be undermined unless CH4 is also brought under tighter control. "CO2 is still the dominant target for mitigation, for good reason. But we run the risk if we lose sight of methane of offsetting the gains we might make in bringing down levels of carbon dioxide," said Robert Jackson from Stanford University, US.

Prof Jackson was speaking ahead of this week's American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in San Francisco where methane trends will be a major point of discussion. With colleagues who are part of an initiative called the Global Carbon Project, he has also just authored an editorial in the journal Environmental Research Letters (ERL). This paper makes a clarion call to the scientific community to address the knowledge deficit that surrounds CH4.
(snip)

"Methane has many sources, but the culprit behind the steep rise is probably agriculture," Prof Jackson told BBC News. "We do see some increased fossil fuel emissions over the last decade, but we think biological sources, and tropical sources, are the most likely." Agricultural sources would include cattle and other ruminants, as well as rice paddies.

Emissions from wetlands are almost certainly a significant part of this story as well. But so too could be the role played by the chemical reactions that normally remove methane from the atmosphere. One of the most important of these is the destruction process involving the so-called hydroxyl radical. The concentration of this chemical species in the atmosphere might also be changing in some way. According to the ERL editorial, there needs to be a particular push on understanding such methane "sinks".
(snip)

[MFM008]

1. Maggots voters

Better learn to hold their breath....indefinitely.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

2. Got that right!

[mackdaddy]

3. This study seems to downplay Fracking and Arctic Methane releases.

All of the satellite data generated maps I have seen show very high concentrations in the arctic tundra from melting permafrost related releases, and over the Arctic ocean itself suggesting melting methane hydrates.

The other large concentrated areas are basically where ever there is fracking for Oil and gas production such as eastern Ohio to WV and PA, TX and OK, and California.

I would not discount agriculture, but I am not sure how the high levels of methane from pigs, chickens and cattle compare with fracking.

Gif of Methane concentrations at different heights last week.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. News release: Surge in methane emissions threatens efforts to slow climate change

Last edited Mon Dec 12, 2016, 07:33 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.futureearth.org/news/surge-methane

[font face=Serif]12 December 2016
[font size=5]News release: Surge in methane emissions threatens efforts to slow climate change[/font]

Human activities dominate the world's methane cycle, contributing roughly 60% of the new methane added to the atmosphere every year, according to the 2016 Global Methane Budget. Graphic: Global Carbon Project, Fondation BNP Paribas

[font size=4]In a new analysis, scientists raise the alarm about growing concentrations of methane in the atmosphere – and also highlight the opportunities for slowing emissions.[/font]

[font size=3]Global concentrations of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas and cause of climate change, are now growing faster in the atmosphere than at any other time in the past two decades.

That is the message of a team of international scientists in an editorial published 12 December in the journal Environmental Research Letters. The group reports that methane concentrations in the air began to surge around 2007 and grew precipitously in 2014 and 2015. In that two-year period, concentrations shot up by 10 or more parts per billion annually. It’s a stark contrast from the early 2000s when methane concentrations crept up by just 0.5 parts per billion on average each year. The reason for the spike is unclear but may come from emissions from agricultural sources and mainly around the tropics – potentially from farm sites like rice paddies and cattle pastures.

Scientists involved in the editorial will discuss these trends at a session during the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco on Tuesday, 13 December.

The findings could give new global attention to methane – which is much less prevalent in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide but is a more potent greenhouse gas, trapping 28 times more heat. And while research shows that the growth of carbon dioxide emissions has flattened out in recent years, methane emissions seem to be soaring.

…[/font][/font]