Alaska is getting wetter. That’s bad news for permafrost and the climate

Alaska is getting wetter. A new study spells out what that means for the permafrost that underlies about 85% of the state, and the consequences for Earth’s global climate.

New 3D view of methane tracks sources

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center NASA’s new 3-dimensional portrait of methane concentrations shows the world’s second largest contributor to greenhouse warming, the diversity of sources on the ground, and the behavior of the gas as it moves through the atmosphere. Combining multiple data sets from emissions inventories, including fossil fuel, agricultural, biomass burning and biofuels, and…

Methane emitted by humans vastly underestimated, researchers find

University of Rochester Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and large contributor to global warming. Methane emissions to the atmosphere have increased by approximately 150 percent over the past three centuries, but it has been difficult for researchers to determine exactly where these emissions originate; heat-trapping gases like methane can be emitted naturally, as well…

NASA Flights Detect Millions of Arctic Methane Hotspots

From NASA Feature | February 18, 2020 The image shows a thermokarst lake in Alaska. Thermokarst lakes form in the Arctic when permafrost thaws. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech By Esprit Smith, NASA’s Earth Science News Team The Arctic is one of the fastest warming places on the planet. As temperatures rise, the perpetually frozen layer of soil,…

New assessment of gas locked in ice in European waters

University of Southampton A study led by the University of Southampton has mapped several sites in Europe containing gas hydrate – a relatively clean fuel which could help bridge the gap between fossil fuels and renewables. Vast amounts of natural gas are stored in an ice-like form beneath the seabed, under the deep seafloor, close…

Facts About Methane Ignored to Support Climate Narrative

Guest essay by By Walter Starck Science is, above all, a search for understanding based on a primacy of reason and evidence, with all findings subject to revision in accord with further evidence or more comprehensive explanation. The highest achievement in science is to discover a new or better understanding that can extend or replace…

Methane warming exaggerated by 400%

By Barry Brill The IPCC’s AR5 estimated the global warming caused by a tonne of livestock methane would be 28 times that of a tonne of carbon dioxide. New research destroys that estimate. The war on meat has been gathering pace amongst our Western elites. The Economist makes a detailed case for “plant-based food” in…

Methane production and emissions in trees and forests

Lots and lots of implications for climate models and GHG budgets. From New Phytologist Kristofer R. Covey J. Patrick Megonigal First published: 06 December 2018   https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15624 Summary Forest ecosystem methane (CH4) research has focused on soils, but trees are also important sources and sinks in forest CH4 budgets. Living and dead trees transport and emit…