Super greenhouse gas emitters mapped by NASA — RT World News

NASA’s orbital dust analyzer has detected and mapped 50 « super-emitters » of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in the United States, the Middle East and Central Asia. The survey is valuable for understanding climate change, the space agency said on Tuesday.

The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission, which was set up on the International Space Station in July, identified methane hotspots using an imaging spectrometer.

Super-emitters include large oil and gas facilities, as well as landfills. NASA has shared satellite images of these sites near Carlsbad, New Mexico, Tehran and Hazar, Turkmenistan’s port on the Caspian Sea.

According to NASA, the survey and similar research will help to better understand climate change. Methane, although only a fraction of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, is estimated to be 80 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

“We look forward to seeing how EMIT’s mineral data will improve climate modelling,” Kate Calvin, NASA’s chief scientist and senior climate adviser, noted, adding that new methane detection tools will improve ways to measure and monitor the impact of greenhouse gases on the planet.

In August, Space.com reported that other measures by the EMIT team aimed to create « an image cube that shows the spectral signature of Western Australian elements. » These include « exposed soils, vegetation, agricultural areas, rivers and clouds. »

EMIT is also designed to measure the amount of minerals, including dolomite, calcite and gypsum, in arid regions of the Earth.