Methane Emissions Soar to New Heights; NASA Identifies Super-Emitters

Methane plume southeast of Carlsbad, New Mexico detected by NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation mission. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Methane emissions recorded the biggest ever jump in 2021, according to a new report by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), despite urgent calls for dramatic cuts to the potent greenhouse gas.  

The report found that globally averaged atmospheric methane concentrations experienced the biggest year on year increase between 2020 and 2021 since systemic records began in 1983.

The report also found that methane emissions, along with other key greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide), reached record total highs last year.

In 2021, methane concentrations reached 1908 parts per billion (ppb), a 262% increase over pre-industrial levels. Carbon dioxide concentrations reached 415.7 parts per million (ppm), an increase of 149% over pre-industrial levels. Nitrous oxide reached 334.5 ppb, which is 124% more than pre-industrial levels.

“WMO’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin has underlined, once again, the enormous challenge – and the vital necessity – of urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prevent global temperatures rising even further in the future,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas in a news release about the report.

“The continuing rise in concentrations of the main heat-trapping gases, including the record acceleration in methane levels, shows that we are heading in the wrong direction,” he said. 

The source of the dramatic increases in methane levels is still being investigated. Some initial analysis suggests that the largest contributors to the rapid growth methane emissions is “biogenic sources,” which include wetlands and rice paddies. There are concerns that a warming planet causes organic material to break down faster, contributing to the rapid rise in methane emissions.

Meanwhile, NASA has just announced that its Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission has identified more than 50 methane “super-emitters” in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southwestern United States.

NASA says that “super-emitters are facilities, equipment, and other infrastructure, typically in the fossil-fuel, waste, or agriculture sectors, that emit methane at high rates.”

EMIT detected 12 plumes in Turkmenistan’s oil and gas producing region east of the Caspian Sea port of Hazar. The agency says that some of these plumes stretched for than 20 miles.  The instrument also found a 2-mile-long methane plume in the oil-rich Permian Basin in the Southwestern United States.

“Some of the plumes EMIT detected are among the largest ever seen – unlike anything that has ever been observed from space,” explains Andrew Thorpe, a research technologist at JPL leading the EMIT methane effort. “What we’ve found in a just a short time already exceeds our expectations.”

EMIT has been collecting data since July when it was installed on the International Space Station.

NASA’s EMIT aims to map key minerals in dust-producing desert to better understand the effect of airborne dust on climate. But the technology has proven effective at detecting the presence of methane.

“Reining in methane emissions is key to limiting global warming. This exciting new development will not only help researchers better pinpoint where methane leaks are coming from, but also provide insight on how they can be addressed – quickly,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

“The International Space Station and NASA’s more than two dozen satellites and instruments in space have long been invaluable in determining changes to the Earth’s climate. EMIT is proving to be a critical tool in our toolbox to measure this potent greenhouse gas – and stop it at the source.”

Interested in Learning More About this Topic?

If you’re tasked with reducing methane emissions in your operations, join us at the National Summit on Methane Mitigation, taking place at the Norris Conference Centre, Houston on December 6-8, 2022. Download the agenda for more information.