methane

Landfill Cover Soil Methane Oxidation Underestimated

harminka — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:11:11 -0500

Landfilled waste decomposes in the absence of oxygen and results in the production of methane. Landfills are classified as the second-largest human-made source of CH4 in the U.S. Additionally, landfill gas contains numerous non-methane hydrocarbons that are either volatilized directly from waste materials or produced through biochemical reactions during waste degradation.

Methane gas levels begin to increase again

harminka — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:23:29 -0500

The amount of methane in Earth's atmosphere shot up in 2007, bringing to an end a period of about a decade in which atmospheric levels of the potent greenhouse gas were essentially stable, according to a team led by MIT researchers.

New pathway for methane production in oceans

harminka — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:43:50 -0500

A new pathway for methane production has been uncovered in the oceans, and this has a significant potential impact for the study of greenhouse gas production on our planet.

Methane Release Could Cause Abrupt, Far-Reaching Climate Change

harminka — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:36:55 -0500

An abrupt release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from ice sheets that extended to Earth's low latitudes some 635 million years ago caused a dramatic shift in climate, scientists funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) report in this week's issue of the journal Nature.

Halting methane squanderlust

harminka — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:01:32 -0500

The pipes that rise from oil fields, topped with burning flames of natural gas, waste fossil fuels and dump carbon dioxide into the air. In new work, researchers have identified the structure of a catalytic material that can turn methane into a safe and easy-to-transport liquid. The insight lays the foundation for converting excess methane into a variety of useful fuels and chemicals.

Methane sources over last 30,000 years

harminka — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:03:16 -0500

Ice cores are essential for climate research, because they represent the only archive which allows direct measurements of atmospheric composition and greenhouse gas concentrations in the past. Using novel isotopic studies, scientists from the European Project for Ice Coring In Antarctica (EPICA) were now able to identify the most important processes responsible for changes in natural methane concentrations over the transition from the last ice age into our warm period.

New methane storage technology exceeds DOE goals

harminka — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:49:31 -0600

In a major advance in alternative fuel technology, researchers report development of a sponge-like material with the highest methane storage capacity ever measured. It can hold almost one-third more methane than the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) target level for methane-powered cars, they report in a new study.

Methane from microbes, fuel for the future

harminka — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 02:55:47 -0600

Microbes could provide a clean, renewable energy source and use up carbon dioxide in the process, suggested Dr James Chong at a Science Media Centre press briefing.

Summer season on Neptune creates escape route for methane

harminka — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:27:08 -0500

An international team of astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope has discovered that the south pole of Neptune is much hotter than the rest of the planet. This is consistent with the fact that it is late southern summer and this region has been in sunlight for about 40 years.

Researcher finds lake boiling with methane

harminka — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 11:02:31 -0500

Last month, UAF researcher Katey Walter brought a National Public Radio crew to Alaska’s North Slope, hoping to show them examples of what happens when methane is released when permafrost thaws beneath lakes.

Plants do not emit methane

harminka — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 01:00:30 -0500

A recent study in Nature1 suggested that terrestrial plants may be a global source of the potent greenhouse gas methane, making plants substantial contributors to the annual global methane budget. This controversial finding and the resulting commotion triggered a consortium2 of Dutch scientists to re-examine this in an independent study.

Assessing methane release from submarine landslide

harminka — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:19:38 -0600