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NASA Finds a Delaware-Sized Methane "Hot Spot" In the Southwest

Posted by samzenpus on from the it's-getting-hot-in-here dept.

merbs writes According to new satellite research from scientists at NASA and the University of Michigan this "hot spot" is "responsible for producing the largest concentration of the greenhouse gas methane seen over the United States—more than triple the standard ground-based estimate." It covers 2,500 square miles, about the size of Delaware. It is so big that scientists initially thought it was a mistake in their instruments. "We didn't focus on it because we weren't sure if it was a true signal or an instrument error," NASA's Christian Frankenberg said in a statement.

5 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. Proper link by bruce_the_loon · · Score: 5, Informative

    Link to a proper article about it. http://news.agu.org/press-release/satellite-data-shows-u-s-methane-hot-spot-bigger-than-expected/

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  2. Relative sizes by badger.foo · · Score: 5, Funny

    For UK and European readers, "the size of Delaware" is just a tad more than a fourth of "the size of Wales".

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    1. Re:Relative sizes by Thanshin · · Score: 5, Funny

      For everyone else, they're talking about 6,500 km2.

      (Or, the combined area of about 1293017700000 ping pong balls)

    2. Re:Relative sizes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      For geopolitically challenged environmentalist-globalist readers, Delaware is about the same size as the methane hotspot recently discovered in the American Southwest.

  3. Re:Size vs resolution by timeOday · · Score: 5, Informative
    Confirmed by independent sensors over a period of 10 years:

    SCIAMACHY measured greenhouse gases from 2002 to 2012. The atmospheric hot spot persisted throughout the study period. A ground station in the Total Carbon Column Observing Network, operated by the Department of Energyâ(TM)s Los Alamos National Laboratory, provided independent validation of the measurement.