Methane News

Methane emissions rise nine percent in decade By AFP Paris - Emissions of methane -- a planet-warming gas several times more potent than carbon dioxide -- have risen by nine percent in a decade driven by mankind's insatiable hunger for energy and food, a major international study concluded Wednesday.

Scientists find area of East Siberian Sea 'boiling' with methane By Karen Graham Scientists studying the consequences of methane emissions from underwater permafrost in the Arctic Ocean announced this week that they found a 50-square-foot area of the East Siberian Sea "boiling with methane bubbles."

China failing to curb methane emissions, study finds By AFP Apo - Methane emissions from coal mining in China have continued to rise despite tough legislation and ambitious government targets, a new study based on satellite data said Wednesday.

White House moves to roll back methane restrictions By Karen Graham Washington - The EPA thinks the previous administration went overboard on rules about greenhouse gases, and it's about to correct that. After earlier moves on carbon dioxide pollution from autos and coal plants, this time it's all about methane.

Essential Science: Methane ice dunes found on Pluto By Tim Sandle Houston - Methane ice dunes have been detected on the surface of Pluto, by NASA spacecraft. The structures offer a new insight into the dwarf planet and with the differences in planetary structures within our solar system.

Canada's methane emissions 25 - 50 percent higher than feared By Karen Graham The Canadian oil and gas industry and federal government may be underestimating Alberta's emissions of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases.

Shell Canada launches new methane detection pilot program By Karen Graham Shell Canada announced on Wednesday the company is launching a methane detector pilot at one of its shale gas sites near Rocky Mountain House in Alberta, Canada. The technology will allow for constant monitoring of methane levels.

Scientists develop an alternative to wasteful methane flaring By Karen Graham Methane is the primary component of natural gas and is considered a by-product of oil drilling. Methane is also a greenhouse gas 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide over the course of a century.

The remains of hundreds of huge methane domes found on sea floor By Karen Graham Huge craters on the floor of the Arctic Ocean are the remains of collapsed methane domes that exploded at the end of the last Ice Age, some 12,000 years ago as the glaciers retreated. But even now, methane gas is still seeping out of the seafloor.

Thousands of underground gas bubbles set to explode in Siberia By Kesavan Unnikrishnan As many as 7,000 massive underground methane bubbles, formed by thawing permafrost are set to explode in Siberia. Such explosions, while releasing greenhouse gases, can create massive craters and poses a major safety risk to the local people.

NASA begins testing of greenhouse gases over eastern U.S. By Karen Graham Hampton - NASA wants to improve on our scientists understanding of the sources of two very powerful greenhouse gases and how they interact in the atmosphere.

How beavers are affecting the global climate By Tim Sandle A new study has demonstrated the effect that the growing beaver population, in certain regions, is having on both habitat and methane gas emissions.

Australian river near fracking site bursts into flames By Megan Hamilton Chinchilla - In a protest against coal seam gas leaking into South West Queensland's Condamine River, NSW Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham headed to the river and hopped on a boat. Then he sparked a lighter a few inches above the water and the river burst into flames.

Is this a trick? Feds say pumpkins contribute to global warming By Karen Graham Did you know that those scary-looking jack-o-lanterns on people's front stoops are dangerous? The Energy Department says those carved pumpkins will come back to haunt us as they lay rotting on some landfill after they are thrown out after the holiday.

Op-Ed: Are you ready to choose the last generation? By Daniel R. Cobb All parents love their children. And every grandparent falls in love with their grandkids. Which generation are you willing to kill?

Changing temperatures could lead to awakening permafrost By Tim Sandle Scientists are worried that as the Arctic warms through global warming, then the considerable quantity of carbon locked away in Arctic tundra will be transformed into greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane).

NASA aims to send submarine to explore seas on Titan By Stephen Morgan In one of the most awe-inspiring and audacious plans ever conceived by NASA, the space agency has unveiled a project to send a submarine to Saturn's moon, Titan, to explore its mysterious seas.

You and whose army? Beavers are changing the world By Tim Sandle Saskatoon - Major conservation efforts have helped save beavers from extinction. Interestingly, this action has had consequences: an increase in the generation of methane gas.

NASA now says vast methane cloud over U.S. southwest is for real By Martin Laine A cloud of methane gas about the size of Delaware was detected over the Four Corners area of the American southwest years ago. The readings were so unusually high that NASA scientists dismissed them. A new study confirms the methane hotspot is real.

Clean hydrogen energy can allegedly be produced from methane By Walter McDaniel Rio De Janeiro - Researcher Fabio B. Noronha claims that he and his team with the National Institute of Technology may have found a way to convert methane into hydrogen energy.

Methane levels from Deepwater Horizon 'remain high' By Tim Sandle Microbial activities in the Gulf of Mexico suggests that gas-rich deepwater plumes following the Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout overwhelmed methane-oxidizing bacterial species, leading to high concentrations of methane lasting for a very long time.

Fracking: Methane levels 1000 higher than EPA stats at some wells By Robert Myles West Lafayette - The furor over fracking took a further twist this week as levels of the greenhouse gas methane were found above drilling wells, in some cases, 1,000 times greater than previous Environmental Protection Agency estimates.

Low-methane kangaroo gas may be key to bovine emissions problem By Martin Laine Kangaroos and cows share a similar diet – mostly grasses and other vegetation. Yet, kangaroos give off a relatively low-methane gas whereas cows and other livestock are a major source of the greenhouse gas.

Breeding low methane emitting cattle By Tim Sandle A new study is examining the possibilities of adapting cattle husbandry and the selection processes for cow breeding, to lower the greenhouse gas emissions produced when cows beak wind.

Making methane with bacteria By Tim Sandle Scientists have looked at how bacteria work together to anaerobically digest biomass to produce methane gas, which is important in bioenergy and could be linked to the new generation of biofuels.

Op-Ed: Yoko Ono & 'Artists Against Fracking' visit Pennsylvania By Anne Sewell Yoko Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, started a petition against fracking in New York. They were then invited to visit communities in Pennsylvania to see the actual impacts and effects of fracking, up close and personal.

The Big Thaw: Permafrost thaw to cause significant Global Warming By Robert Myles Thawing of permafrost is expected to cause significant additional global warming, not yet accounted for in climate predictions, warn scientists attached to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in a report released this week..

Curiosity sniffs the Martian air but no clues yet to life on Mars By Robert Myles NASA’s Curiosity rover sampled the air on Mars this week. At a teleconference on November 2, NASA announced Curiosity had not found any evidence of methane, which is often a sign of life, in the Martian atmosphere.

Vast stores of greenhouse gas locked within the Antarctic By Tim Sandle New research suggests that large volumes of greenhouse gases, like methane, are locked beneath the ice-covered regions of the Antarctic.

Methane from fracking contaminates Pennsylvania water supplies By Tim Sandle Dangerous levels of methane have appeared in water supplies in Leroy Township, Pennsylvania. The appearance of the gas appears to be the result of fracking activities, leading to a fine being levelled on the well operator Chesapeake Energy.

Methane Image