Monitoring Methane

Although methane persists for a shorter time in the atmosphere, it is a much more potent 'greenhouse gas' than carbon dioxide. Methane is released by drilling for oil and gas. A recent paper in Science published data from the Tropomi measuring instrument aboard the European Space Agency's Sentinel5 satellite (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/06/how-satellites-may-hold-the-key-to-the-methane-crisis). In 2019 and 2020, Tropomi recorded 1,800 'huge' releases of methane into the atmosphere. These releases were around 25 tonnes per hour. Two thirds of the releases, were from oil and gas facilities. A smaller proportion were from transmission pipelines. Worryingly, present satellite coverage can only see around 10% of methane emissions. Burning fossil fuels, obviously adds to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. The methane generations of drilling for oil and 'natural' gas have, however, in many cases, escaped direct observation. Perhaps more extensive satellite tracking will facilitate effective monitoring of methane release? Methane certainly needs to be monitored.