NASA Instrument Detecting Large Methane Emissions from Space
2022-10-28
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1A NASA space instrument designed to study dust in the atmosphere and its effects on climate change is also detecting worldwide emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
2The device is called an imaging spectrometer.
3It has identified more than 50 methane "super-emitters" in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Southwestern United States, the space agency said recently.
4The newly measured methane hotspots include large oil and gas centers and waste dumps.
5The spectrometer was put in place on the International Space Station in July.
6NASA built the instrument mainly to identify the kinds of dust blown into the atmosphere from Earth's deserts and other dry areas.
7That study, NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Investigation, or EMIT, will help scientists know if airborne dust in different parts of the world is likely to trap or deflect heat from the sun.
8This helps them know if the dust has a warming or cooling effect on the planet.
9It turns out that methane absorbs infrared light in a special way that EMIT's spectrometer can easily detect, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles said.
10From the space station, EMIT can study large areas many kilometers wide while also centering on small areas the size of a football field.
11"Some of the plumes EMIT detected are among the largest ever seen - unlike anything that has ever been observed from space," said Andrew Thorpe, a JPL research technologist leading the methane studies.
12New images of methane super-emitters shown by JPL included a group of 12 plumes from oil and gas structures in Turkmenistan.
13Some plumes were more than 32 kilometers wide.
14Scientists estimate the Turkmenistan plumes all together emit methane at a rate of 50,400 kilograms per hour.
15This is close to the top emission rate from the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas field accident near Los Angeles.
16That event was one of the largest accidental methane releases in U.S. history.
17Two other large emitters were an oilfield in New Mexico, and a waste-processing center in Iran, emitting nearly 29,000 kilograms of methane per hour combined.
18JPL officials said neither were previously known to scientists.
19EMIT, one of 25 Earth science instruments in orbit, might be able to find hundreds of methane super-emitters before its year-long mission ends, NASA said.
20I'm Andrew Smith.
1A NASA space instrument designed to study dust in the atmosphere and its effects on climate change is also detecting worldwide emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. 2The device is called an imaging spectrometer. It has identified more than 50 methane "super-emitters" in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Southwestern United States, the space agency said recently. The newly measured methane hotspots include large oil and gas centers and waste dumps. 3The spectrometer was put in place on the International Space Station in July. NASA built the instrument mainly to identify the kinds of dust blown into the atmosphere from Earth's deserts and other dry areas. 4That study, NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Investigation, or EMIT, will help scientists know if airborne dust in different parts of the world is likely to trap or deflect heat from the sun. This helps them know if the dust has a warming or cooling effect on the planet. 5It turns out that methane absorbs infrared light in a special way that EMIT's spectrometer can easily detect, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles said. 6From the space station, EMIT can study large areas many kilometers wide while also centering on small areas the size of a football field. 7"Some of the plumes EMIT detected are among the largest ever seen - unlike anything that has ever been observed from space," said Andrew Thorpe, a JPL research technologist leading the methane studies. 8New images of methane super-emitters shown by JPL included a group of 12 plumes from oil and gas structures in Turkmenistan. Some plumes were more than 32 kilometers wide. 9Scientists estimate the Turkmenistan plumes all together emit methane at a rate of 50,400 kilograms per hour. This is close to the top emission rate from the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas field accident near Los Angeles. That event was one of the largest accidental methane releases in U.S. history. 10Two other large emitters were an oilfield in New Mexico, and a waste-processing center in Iran, emitting nearly 29,000 kilograms of methane per hour combined. JPL officials said neither were previously known to scientists. 11EMIT, one of 25 Earth science instruments in orbit, might be able to find hundreds of methane super-emitters before its year-long mission ends, NASA said. 12I'm Andrew Smith. 13Steve Gorman reported this story for the Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 14Words in This Story 15detect -v. to find or discover something, often by using a piece of equipment 16emissions -n. gases released into the atmosphere 17deflect -v. to make something move in a different direction by blocking or hitting it 18absorb -v. to take in or soak up something, such as energy, light, water, and the like 19plume -n. a large amount of smoke, dust, snow, or other airborne material that forms an extended shape like a cloud 20________________________________________________________________________ 21We want to hear from you. 22We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 23Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.