Issue 87: Methane
August 10, 2023
In this week’s issue:
- Collaboration issue with EcoFlight to explore the methane problem from above
- Algal explosions amid hot weather
This is an archived issue. Sign up here to receive the Planet Snapshots newsletter every Thursday morning.
Feature Story: Methane
For the climate crisis, the 4 H’s of the apocalypse aren’t horses, they’re hydrogen. Methane, or CH4, is a potent greenhouse gas that enters the atmosphere via natural and anthropogenic emissions. If you find the biblical comparison dramatic, then consider that methane has about 80 times the warming power of CO2 over a 20-year period. Even though it doesn’t stay in the atmosphere as long (only 12 years compared to centuries), it packs a stronger punch. And, unfortunately, there’s a lot of it out there.
Atmospheric methane is now 2.5 times more concentrated compared to pre-industrial levels. Add this growth to its potency, multiply it by vast reserves found globally, and what’s left is a concerning equation with far too many discouraging answers. The good news, however, is that methane is under the climate-solutions spotlight. Its threat is identified. All that’s left is to take action to curb emissions. That’s obviously easier said than done, but an arsenal of new tools is making the whole process easier by assessing its vulnerabilities and holding susceptible parties accountable.
Methane is a colorless, odorless gas. Meaning that tracking where it’s entering the atmosphere is difficult, to say the least. So to investigate the issue we’re partnering up with EcoFlight, a nonprofit that educates and advocates for environmental protection by employing the aerial perspective.
Finding changes across large areas of Earth’s surface is our bread and butter, and instigating meaningful conversations is theirs, but we’re both in the business of using a top-down view to promote bottom-up solutions.
Methane enters Earth’s atmosphere naturally, with 30% of emissions emitted from wetlands alone. Other sources like wildfires, biomass burning, and even termites contribute some too. But the anthropogenic emissions are of particular concern. Agriculture is a huge contributor at 20% of total emissions, with a large proportion of that sourced from cow belching. A single cow produces between 154 to 264 pounds of methane gas a year. And you don’t need us to tell you how many cows there are out there.
The other main anthropogenic contributors are oil, gas, and coal operations. The complex and massive infrastructure systems we’ve built to extract, transport, and use these energy sources have a few flaws (big surprise). Natural gas, which consists mostly of methane, is marketed as a cleaner alternative to coal, but new studies show that a leak of just 0.2% gas makes it just as bad. That’s not much at all, and leaks from oil and gas wells are common. When there’s nearly a million oil wells in the U.S. alone, these leaks become the rule, not the exception.
A common sight on oil fields is gas flaring: the burning of unsellable, excess gas produced during operations that releases methane into the atmosphere. But sometimes the methane is released directly, like what happened this summer in Texas, where more than 300 tons of greenhouse gases let loose after supply infrastructure overheated. It’s an ironic twist that planet-heating gases are harming planet-heating industries, but it’s really just a microcosm of a larger problem.
What do you do when you’ve got methane leaks invisibly spouting up across the globe? You take to the skies with remote sensing technology. Organizations like Carbon Mapper use satellite data to spot large methane leaks, and planes and drones can be used to locate smaller sources. As governments pledge to cut methane emissions, knowing where the super-emitters are located and how much is being released is critical intel.
Twenty-four percent of the Northern Hemisphere is covered by permafrost: a layer at or under Earth’s surface that’s permanently frozen. The only problem with permafrost is that the frost is not so permanent, at least in a warming world. Locked in that frigidity is a massive reserve of carbon, something on the order of billions of tons of organic carbon and methane. Which adds yet another reason to the growing list of why curbing emissions is a great idea.
When every greenhouse gas particle and every penny spent matters, prioritizing low-hanging wins is critical. In this case, methane’s potency is also its vulnerability. This warming offender is now a major target for curbing global emissions, with scientists citing methane emission reduction as the fastest and easiest way to cool the atmosphere. Equipped with remote sensing technology, what starts as a global game of whack-a-methane can end up with serious consequences for polluters.
Remote Sensations: Summer Blooms
Warmer temperatures have long been a highlight of summer months, but this year’s record highs are anything but fun. Some have heralded the recent heat waves plaguing the world over as the end of “global warming” and the start of “global boiling.” Whatever you call it, it’s certainly not good for us humans, but some organisms thrive in the heat.
Algal blooms occur when the right mixture of warm water, excess nutrients, and sunlight is achieved — meaning summer is an ideal time for growth. These microscopic organisms can run rampant in bodies of water ranging in size from small ponds to entire swaths of open ocean. Here’s some of the ones we’ve recently spotted.
All imagery Ⓒ 2023 Planet Labs PBC
Editor: Ryder Kimball | Images: Ryder Kimball, EcoFlight, Max Borrmann, Julian Peschel, and Maarten Lambrechts
