An imaging spectrometer has identified more than 50 methane 'super-emitters' in Central Asia, the Middle East and the Southwestern United States since it was installed in July aboard the International Space Station, NASA said.
LOS ANGELES - An orbital NASA instrument designed mainly to advance studies of airborne dust and its effects on climate change has proven adept at another key Earth-science function - detecting large, worldwide emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
The spectrometer was built primarily to identify the mineral composition of dust blown into the atmosphere from Earth's deserts and other arid regions by measuring the wavelengths of light reflected from the surface soil in those areas. Circling Earth once every 90 minutes from its perch aboard the space station some 250 miles high, EMIT is able to scan vast tracts of the planet dozens of miles across while also focusing in on areas as small as a soccer field.
Examples of newly imaged methane super-emitters showcased by JPL on Tuesday included a cluster of 12 plumes from oil and gas infrastructure in Turkmenistan, some plumes stretching more than 20 miles .
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