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America's Methane Mystery: NASA Set To Investigate Hotspot Over the 4 Corners

schwit writes A "hot spot" of the largest concentration of methane seen over the United States is in the area near the Four Corners intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah and covers 2,500 square miles. The hotspot predates widespread fracking in the area. Researchers from several institutions are now in the Four Corners region of the U.S. Southwest with a suite of airborne and ground-based instruments, aiming to uncover reasons for a mysterious methane "hot spot" detected from space. "With all the ground-based and airborne resources that the different groups are bringing to the region, we have the unique chance to unequivocally solve the Four Corners mystery," said Christian Frankenberg, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, who is heading NASA's part of the effort.

111 comments

  1. Sorry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can't help myself. I've had this overwhelming desire to fart in four states for decades now. It's even worse now with the munchies.

    1. Re:Sorry by syn3rg · · Score: 1

      CowboyNeal, is that you?

      --
      The contents of this message have been doubly encrypted by ROT13
    2. Re:Sorry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're speaking like a cross-roads demon.

    3. Re:Sorry by warpuck · · Score: 0

      Too much beans and cabbage consumed in the corners ??

  2. atomic fart by Lead+Butthead · · Score: 0

    Residual from atomic fart in Beavis and Butthead Do America?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOS5gWzkXMA

    --
    ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
    1. Re:atomic fart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yea, the rodents shall cry out for mercy, but they shall find none. For today is snake-feeding day. My corn snake shall be satiated. Yes, my pretty, soon you dine on raw FLESH!

    2. Re:atomic fart by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Free kittens to good homes!

      I've got three left.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  3. This is a real mystery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Obviously nothing to do with oil extract.

    1. Re:This is a real mystery by courteaudotbiz · · Score: 1

      Now, they're coming with vehicules to investigate it, so they're gonna make even more pollution in the area. And then, this guy takes his cigarette, cracks his match and BBBOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!

      No more methane to investigate.

    2. Re:This is a real mystery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The study's lead author, Eric Kort of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, noted the study period predates the widespread use of hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, near the hot spot.

      Funny how your stupid attempt at snark actually conveyed the truth.

    3. Re:This is a real mystery by __aanbvm4272 · · Score: 0

      Funny how your obvious debunking ideas has been bought and sold before it can go any further. Collect your petroleum rewards citizen!.

  4. No mystery at all by ralphsiegler · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Coal bed methane, that is in the cracks and pores of coals, is old, old and well known thing. That's why the "canary in the coal mine", why miners die in explosions, etc. *yawn*

    1. Re:No mystery at all by Layzej · · Score: 5, Informative

      Coal bed methane, that is in the cracks and pores of coals, is old, old and well known thing.

      Yeah. It's even mentioned in TFA:

      This indicates the methane emissions should not be attributed to fracking but instead to leaks in natural gas production and processing equipment in New Mexico's San Juan Basin, which is the most active coalbed methane production area in the country.

      'The results are indicative that emissions from established fossil fuel harvesting techniques are greater than inventoried,' Kort said.

    2. Re:No mystery at all by tomhath · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What you say is true. But the mystery is why this location has so much more methane than other coal regions. It could be that there's just much more gas escaping from the coal fields than anywhere else; we'll see.

    3. Re:No mystery at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's true, but the oddity is the existence of this anomaly in the Four Corners region even though there are plenty of other major coal mining areas not far away that don't show a similar anomaly over them. Even if it is only methane from coal, there's something different at this site.

    4. Re:No mystery at all by ralphsiegler · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not a matter of coal mining, but rather some fields make a huge of amount of methane so collection facilities are located there. This region is the largest producing commercial coalbed methane one in the nation. Thus no mystery and no surprise, it's like someone suddenly decided they needed funding for a study and are harping on something I knew 30+ years ago.

    5. Re:No mystery at all by quenda · · Score: 2

      That's why the "canary in the coal mine",

      Canaries were for carbon monoxide, actually.

    6. Re:No mystery at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or it could be that if you were to give the Earth an enema, this where you would put the tube.

    7. Re:No mystery at all by ralphsiegler · · Score: 3, Informative

      look it up, they were for both methane and CO detection. They were used in UK until 1987!

    8. Re: No mystery at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      the fruitland coal seem, the zone that area produces the most natural gas from, reaches the surface in the area where nasa is investigating. there is no mystery, the methane hotspot is not due to leaky process equipment. its all due to geology

    9. Re: No mystery at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      methane inhalation wont kill you. you could breathe a mixture of 80% methane so long as you have 20% o2 you will be just fine

    10. Re:No mystery at all by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      I wonder if there's any way to keep this methane from escaping? Even if it could be collected and flared off it would be a big improvement over letting it escape into the atmosphere.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    11. Re: No mystery at all by borknado · · Score: 1

      Then why did it just develop? If it's just geology, it should have been there since the Aztecs.

    12. Re:No mystery at all by bigfoottoo · · Score: 1

      Several sources have suggested that Four Corners is the site of a large meteor strike. A circular image at that location sometimes appears on: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/w...

    13. Re: No mystery at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, having an O2-Methane mix in an enclosed space with possible spark-producing tools is perfectly safe. Why would they want to avoid that!?

    14. Re: No mystery at all by ralphsiegler · · Score: 1

      Did you know the LEL (Lower Explosive Limit) for methane in air is only 4%? Maybe your way of reasoning wouldn't quite be the best for miners

    15. Re: No mystery at all by danlip · · Score: 1

      We'll he's right in that inhaling the methane won't be the thing that kills you.

    16. Re:No mystery at all by bigfoottoo · · Score: 1

      A follow-up to my prior post: http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf...

    17. Re:No mystery at all by Tom+Cryan · · Score: 1

      They are studying an old phenomenon, methane has been escaping from natural fractures in this area for years, see this interesting article on the Moving Mountain in the July 1933 Popular Mechanics, page 29. https://books.google.com/books... mountain durango&f=false

    18. Re: No mystery at all by cjameshuff · · Score: 1

      The point isn't that it would be safe, it's that there's a wide range of hazardous concentrations that wouldn't affect a canary. Canaries were only useful for detecting presence of poisonous gases or a dangerous lack of oxygen. Presence of flammable gases was detected by instruments such as Davy lamps, not canaries.

    19. Re: No mystery at all by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      They just measured it. Nobody knows how long it's been there.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    20. Re:No mystery at all by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Decatur Illinois.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    21. Re: No mystery at all by Layzej · · Score: 1

      According to TFA: Likely candidates include venting from oil and gas activities, which are primarily coalbed methane exploration and extraction in this region; active coal mines; and natural gas seeps... The Four Corners coal-fired power plant, near Farmington, is one of the targets Nasa wants to investigate as a possible cause of the methane

    22. Re:No mystery at all by __aanbvm4272 · · Score: 1

      I have had an idea or theory that most of the methane underground came from space chunks of Uranus (excuse the pun) etc

    23. Re: No mystery at all by ralphsiegler · · Score: 1

      No. Wrong. Canaries were indeed used for methane detection, look it up. You are imagining the canary would have to pass out or die. False. Reality is the canary is normally a very songful bird, but will *stop singing* if concentration of certain gases (including methane) raises about a certain level, WELL BELOW any level that would make the bird show signs of harm.

  5. Those four states an epicenter by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 2, Funny

    of tex-mex food.

    1. Re:Those four states an epicenter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hurray for the Burrito Grande!!! }----#~

    2. Re:Those four states an epicenter by steelfood · · Score: 1

      Considering its location relative to Florida, I'd say tex-mex is a perfectly valid reason for methane coming out of that hole.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    3. Re:Those four states an epicenter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guy, is that you?

    4. Re:Those four states an epicenter by DesertJazz · · Score: 1

      We don't serve Tex-Mex in New Mexico. That is a COMPLETELY different style of food that New Mexicans disdain as garbage. Come try the chile, I promise a good helping of proper Green or Red Chile will make you understand that it's not Tex-Mex!

      Now as far as the methane, the air quality in the area has been terrible forever. I grew up in Farmington and the asthma/allergy issues I believe are higher there than on average elsewhere. Growing up there were 3 major power plants in the area, with the coal mine feeding two of them. The methane is going to be found to be completely coming from that mine and the two power plants on the Navajo Reservation between Farmington and Shiprock if I were to guess.

  6. Why the bad rap? by Deadstick · · Score: 5, Informative

    Methane is neither the principal part of a fart nor the smelly part. It's odorless. In fact, it's one of three odorless gases which make up roughly 98% of flatulence, with nitrogen and CO2.

    The other 2% is a widely varied mix of esters, sulfides and ketones that depends on what you eat, and that's what provides the inimitable social character.

    The "natural gas" that your stove burns is methane, and your gas company deliberately adds a stinky substance to it so you'll know when you have a leak.

    1. Re:Why the bad rap? by Michael+Woodhams · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because methane is a very potent greenhouse gas.

      I'm not sure why you bring flatulence into the discussion at all.

      Besides, there is a scientific mystery, so scientists want to solve it, independently of how good methane's rap is.

      --
      Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
    2. Re:Why the bad rap? by Alwin+Henseler · · Score: 1

      Methane is neither the principal part of a fart nor the smelly part.

      Methane is known as a powerful greenhouse gas. Thus, it's generally assumed that releasing it into the atmosphere contributes to global warming, and all the negative effects that go with it.

      So when someone farts, it's considered "socially undesirable" not because it smells, but because it's bad for the planet. Got it?

      Now you may ask: why do people make such a big deal out of it when someone farts in an elevator, but not when it happens in the open air? Ultimately the methane makes it into the atmosphere anyway! Tbh, haven't figured that out yet. People are weird.

    3. Re:Why the bad rap? by NostalgiaForInfinity · · Score: 1

      Methane is known as a powerful greenhouse gas. Thus, it's generally assumed that releasing it into the atmosphere contributes to global warming, and all the negative effects that go with it.

      And all the positive effects, like warmer temperatures and higher precipitations!

    4. Re:Why the bad rap? by bunratty · · Score: 2

      Oh, go blow it out your ass!

      --
      What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
    5. Re:Why the bad rap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CO2 creates a sensation of pungency because it reacts to the moisture in the mucosal passages forming carbonic acid. Drink soda pop and belch through the nose. Understand?

    6. Re: Why the bad rap? by pollarda · · Score: 1

      I'm scared to ask but... How did you get to be such an expert on fart gas?

      And while you are at it, could you pass the refried beans?

    7. Re:Why the bad rap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Methane is known as a powerful greenhouse gas. Thus, it's generally assumed that releasing it into the atmosphere contributes to global warming, and all the negative effects that go with it.

      So when someone farts, it's considered "socially undesirable" not because it smells, but because it's bad for the planet. Got it?

      Now you may ask: why do people make such a big deal out of it when someone farts in an elevator, but not when it happens in the open air? Ultimately the methane makes it into the atmosphere anyway! Tbh, haven't figured that out yet. People are weird.

      When people fart they spray fine particles of shit everywhere in a cloud of toxins. That's why reasonable people make a big deal about not farting on others. It's also why buttheads and other rightfully socially marginalized groups include farting in their list of favourite activities - which often includes scratching their balls and arse cracks, picking their nose, free-range feeding in supermarkets, mono chromatic toilet art, pissing on furniture, slut shaming, and hiding Easter eggs in your cistern. Some people don't get that, some people are weird.

      And no - H2S is not non-toxic, or any of the other sulphides (mercaptans) produced by bacteria trying to deal with the undigested crap - no matter how many nutjob DeMeirleirs claim lack of fart sniffing is the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

      Most people have no methane in their farts, a small number produce hydrogen. Ref: Dr. James L. A. Roth, the author of Gastrointestinal Gas (Ch. 17 in Gastroenterology, v. 4, 1976)

      Demonoid Penguin

    8. Re:Why the bad rap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not going to listen to "experts" about when to fart, thanks. -Fox News

    9. Re: Why the bad rap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      according to Wikipedia, flatulence is simply gas. there is no particulate component of farts.

    10. Re:Why the bad rap? by itzly · · Score: 2

      Because methane is a very potent greenhouse gas.

      While that is true, the amount that is released by this hotspot is still small on a global scale, about 0.6 million tons per year on a total of about 600 million tons of methane, so this investigation is mostly a matter of scientific curiosity.

    11. Re: Why the bad rap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      according to Wikipedia, flatulence is simply gas. there is no particulate component of farts.

      Then by your logic (and derpapedia's), both coughs and sneezes are simply air, and there is no vaporised spittle or snot ejected,

      Hooray, you just exposed Big Pharma for lying to us about flu epidemics, and the needs for booster shots. /sarcasm

    12. Re: Why the bad rap? by Demonoid-Penguin · · Score: 1

      according to Wikipedia, flatulence is simply gas. there is no particulate component of farts.

      No particulate component - ever? Unlike your "wikipedia" source I referenced mine with an authoritative source that's not in denial. Good luck convincing your mother those airbrushed brown stains in your shorts are just because you're too lazy to wipe, just keep hanging with your mates, telling bitch jokes and pulling each other's fingers.

    13. Re:Why the bad rap? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      And all the positive effects, like warmer temperatures and higher precipitations!

      As long as you aren't in the British Isles.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    14. Re:Why the bad rap? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      When people fart they spray fine particles of shit everywhere in a cloud of toxins.

      I believe you are thinking of flatus fluidus But fear not, that is what underwear is for.

      You do wear underwear don'tya?

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    15. Re:Why the bad rap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not going to listen to "experts" about when to fart, thanks. -Fox News

      That is a quote from Fox News?!? That would really explain a lot!

    16. Re: Why the bad rap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was demons all along! See! The bible was right!

    17. Re:Why the bad rap? by danlip · · Score: 1

      Tell that to California

    18. Re:Why the bad rap? by jfengel · · Score: 1

      True, though it could well impact the estimates of methane emissions worldwide. If there's some unexpected source of methane, there may be more. Or it may indicate that if some sources are producing more then others are producing less, or that that methane atmospheric lifetime is different than we thought.

      So it's scientific curiosity, but it may well end up having an impact on our understanding of climate change due to greenhouse gases, beyond the immediate production at this site.

    19. Re:Why the bad rap? by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Because weather instantly becomes climate when it supports your preconceptions!

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    20. Re:Why the bad rap? by NostalgiaForInfinity · · Score: 1

      Well, it's what the climate models predict for California:

      http://www.latimes.com/science...

      Of course, don't let science get in the way of your superstitions.

    21. Re:Why the bad rap? by Jmollema · · Score: 1

      Way to suck the fun out of a fart.

  7. "99 Luftballons" by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    hey, the radar image was red, really.

  8. It's the Tex Mex by kencurry · · Score: 1

    Very popular in that region.

    --
    sigs are for losers (except to point out that sigs are for losers)
    1. Re:It's the Tex Mex by plopez · · Score: 1

      No, it's a long way from TX. More NM/Arizona style.

      --
      putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  9. But the real question is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How fast is the bandwidth, and what's the fucking password?!

    1. Re:But the real question is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have to sniff the password.

  10. Queue the Fart Jokes by flopsquad · · Score: 2

    I mean, yes haha, fart fart fart toot toot toot.

    But once we're all done laughing, I think we should take a sober look at the real scientific explanation: the Four Corners is host to a phenomenon known as Intermittent Fulminating Atmospheric Rancidity Tempest - Extended Duration.

    --
    Nothing posted to /. has ever been legal advice, including this.
    1. Re:Queue the Fart Jokes by tsa · · Score: 1

      I think it's all the aliens the government hides there. They're not used to Earth food.

      --

      -- Cheers!

    2. Re:Queue the Fart Jokes by quenda · · Score: 1

      And that is the cue for the spelling Nazis to queue up.

    3. Re:Queue the Fart Jokes by flopsquad · · Score: 1

      Shit you're right! God damn it, I was so happy to type the word "queue" I forgot it was the wrong word. And it's worse because I have actually cued things in the recording sense. Now I have to deal with the Spelling Nazis and the Smelling Nazis...

      --
      Nothing posted to /. has ever been legal advice, including this.
    4. Re:Queue the Fart Jokes by deviated_prevert · · Score: 1

      And that is the cue for the spelling Nazis to queue up.

      Ok I cue up the original smelling Nazi. Perhaps he really didn't shoot himself and instead is in a bunker out at the four corners.
      here is a good fart sequence featuring uncle Addy

      --
      This message was not sent from an iPhone because Peter Sellers really was a deviated prevert without a dime for the call
    5. Re:Queue the Fart Jokes by Livius · · Score: 1

      You cued up a whole queue of that same joke.

  11. Cows and their unnatural diet. by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 2

    May I suggest cows, being fed corn in place of their natural cellulose diet?

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    1. Re:Cows and their unnatural diet. by avandesande · · Score: 1

      Most cattle out here are free range except for dairy, and there isn't much dairy in this region.

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    2. Re:Cows and their unnatural diet. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Indeed. There isn't enough water for feed lots - and given the drought, I daresay there are many fewer cattle than there were a few years ago.

    3. Re:Cows and their unnatural diet. by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      Dang. Another flippant, non scientific post foiled.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    4. Re:Cows and their unnatural diet. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I live in the Phoenix area, dairy is all around, and woe until you who doesn't realize this and buys a house in Gilbert or Laveen that sits downwind from a dairy farm.

      I learned this the hard way. Early morning breezes in the Laveen area were like open sewers.

  12. The source is obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    An all-you-can-eat Mexican buffet is clearly located there.

    1. Re:The source is obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      An all-you-can-eat Mexican buffet is clearly located there.

      Yipppppeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

  13. They found the Earth's sphincter. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nothing knew. Lot's of gas in this area. I mean, John McCain's from this area. lol :)

  14. WW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Walter White's Meth Lab ( -__-)

  15. A weak spot by Megahard · · Score: 1

    Caused by four states meeting together at one point.

    --
    I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
  16. No relation to fracking is what the big media by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is trying to make me believe.....
    Fracking operations started already in 1947 and have steadily increased over the years.
    2003~2007 was already amidst major fracking wells being operated in those areas.
    It just sounds like we have another side effect on our hands besides all those unrelated earthquakes....

    1. Re:No relation to fracking is what the big media by xdor · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The natural gas industry spends billions of dollars to capture methane for sale and combustion.

      This methane plume represents millions of dollars lost (possibly billions since its so large) -- if NASA can locate the source, I'm sure more than one oil & gas company would be more than happy to keep all that money from blowing away with the wind.

    2. Re: No relation to fracking is what the big media by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the largest zone we are producing from actually reaches the surface at the area nasa is investigating. this has nothing to do with leaks in the production and everything to do with the geology.

  17. Two Words: Pinto Beans by pollarda · · Score: 1

    I am sure it is no coincidence that the Four Corners area is at the heart of the methane clod and simultaneously the heart of pinto bean country. In fact, I'll bet that after all their research is concluded that they will find their methane cloud centered around Dove Creek Colorado which is the capitol of pinto bean country in the U.S.

    1. Re:Two Words: Pinto Beans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      actually it was a herd of cattle being brought south, so it was about 1 million cow farts over three days. sorry about that, my bad, I will notify nasa beforehand next time

    2. Re:Two Words: Pinto Beans by onepoint · · Score: 2

      Wait, I don't mean to troll. But don't all the UFO's get reported around that area??

      --
      if you see me, smile and say hello.
    3. Re:Two Words: Pinto Beans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not even close. I rarely report any of my ufo encounters.

  18. Navajo Dam changed the deep aquifer displacing gas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The Navajo Dam changed the deep aquifer in the area displacing gas out though the rocks to the west intersected by the Animas River Gorge.

    d@3-e.net

  19. 1993 Hantavirus story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It must be those damn Hantavirus infected rodent dung again. Someone will have to find a culturally sensitive way to clean it up.

  20. To bad they wont investigate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the huge chemtrails the world government was spraying on the public today

  21. It's a sequel by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 1

    They're filming a sequel to The Arrival and are trying to method act it.

    1. Re:It's a sequel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you seen the ruins my friend?

  22. Simple maybe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Go look at California... drought. What are the symptoms of drought? No water/low-water ... Perhaps this area in four corners has been losing water in it's aquifer and surface water for decades and has now reached a point where the gas isn't being dispersed by run off, and is coming directly from the coalbeds. Perhaps it's a sign that there's something "wrong" (in the geographic sense) with the area that may be dangerous if disturbed.

    Captcha: Stench

  23. It's my fault, sorry. by jd2112 · · Score: 0

    I shouldn't have had that second helping of beans at that little diner in Arizona...

    --
    Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
  24. Neptune! by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    No Uranus jokes? I'm shocked! Dice must have done something I betcha!

  25. Swamp Gas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm surprised the Government hasn't already declared it to just be a case of Swamp Gas. That seems to be their goto for everything else unknown...

  26. Easy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Light a match.

  27. Mystery Solved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey NASA, I solved your mystery using google maps. If you zoom in to the area in question in satellite view, you'll see strange shadows in myriad clearings. They are the shadows of oil wells, thousands upon thousands of oil wells. Perhaps now you can transfer the money you were to use to investigate this into, I don't know, maybe space exploration?

  28. Predates Fracking, but not farting. by sabbede · · Score: 0

    The Southwest is known for spicy, bean laden foods. There's your methane NASA.

  29. Potent but short lived in the atmosphere by Viol8 · · Score: 1

    I think the half life is somewhere around the 10 years mark compared to something like 200 years or more for CO2. So methane isn't really as big a climate issue on a long term scale as some people make out.

    1. Re:Potent but short lived in the atmosphere by jbengt · · Score: 1

      Half life from the main atmospheric process is about 10 years, but some of that carbon in CH4 eventually becomes carbon in CO2. (Considering all sinks, the half life is about 8-1/2 years, according to wikipedia.)

    2. Re:Potent but short lived in the atmosphere by warpuck · · Score: 0

      I wonder how much methane those millions of buffalo produced before the white man killed the all. So maybe they were "Saving the Planet" after all.

  30. as a resident of Arizona... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I apologize for the side effects of our state government. They have finished their session for this year, so the methane gas residue should dissipate in a month or so.

  31. *sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Having visited Four Corners - and numerous other sites in Navajo country with an actual native for a guide - I had something insightful to add to this. I think I'll hold it in though as it would just suffocate amongst the noise.

  32. Re:Mystery Solved-pictues by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can see the pictures here:

    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/10/11/the-methane-hotspot-identified-in-the-four-corners-area-of-the-u-s-southwest-can-be-fixed-with-some-preventative-maintenence/

    Also scroll down on the link and see the global methane concentrations, around the world there are much higher hot spots.

  33. Well, judging from all the fat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    people that seem to live in San Antonio and all the fast food / tex-mex around its really no surprise where the "methane" is coming from. /yea, like above said its a well known methane bed. Fracking has its good and bad points but this stuff would be bubbling into the atmosphere anyway.

  34. It's all by weweedmaniii · · Score: 1

    It's all (insert ideology you disagree with here) fault!!! I'll start It's all global warming/global cooling/democrats/republicans/liberals/conservatives/evolutionists/creationists/fracking fault!!! They all did it the dirty rotten SOBs....Did I miss anyone?

    --
    "If stupid things work...then they are not stupid."