NASA Detects More Than 50 Methane 'Super-Emitter' Zones Around The World

More than 50 spots around the world emitting major levels of methane have been identified by NASA scientists using a tool designed to study how dust affects climate.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a press release that methane emissions are important to limiting global warming.

This new development will help researchers find out where methane leaks are coming from and how they can be fixed quickly.

The purpose of the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation is to understand the effects of airborne dust on the climate.

The ability to detect methane has been demonstrated by the EMIT, which was installed on the International Space Station in July.

More than 50 "super-emitters" of methane gas have been identified by NASA. Fossil fuel, waste and agriculture are connected to most of them.

Kate Calvin is NASA's chief scientist and senior climate advisor.

​"Exceeds our expectations"

Thirty percent of the global rise in temperatures have been caused by methane.

It's more powerful than a greenhouse gas on a century-long timescale, even though it's less abundant in the atmosphere. It is 80 times more powerful over the course of 20 years.

CO 2 lasts hundreds or thousands of years, while methane lasts only a decade.

The Paris Agreement goal of capping Earth's average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius is dependent on a sharp reduction in emissions.

"EMIT will potentially find hundreds of super-emitters, some of them previously spotted through air, space, or ground based measurement, and others that were unknown," NASA said.

Some of the methane emissions detected by EMIT are among the largest ever seen.

"What we've found in a short time already exceeds our expectations."

One of the largest oilfields in the world, the Permian Basin in New Mexico, has been identified by NASA as the location of a 2 mile long methane cloud.

The oil and gas infrastructure east of the Caspian Sea port city of Hazar was identified.

A major waste-processing complex south of Tehran has been identified as the location of a methane leak.

Agence France- Presse.