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Monster Methane Cloud Hovers Over Western U.S.
U.S.Sputnik News ^ | 12-30-14 | Raisa Camargo

Posted on 12/31/2014 2:47:37 PM PST by smokingfrog

Scientists are beginning to question the ramifications of a giant Delaware-sized methane hot spot high up in the air. The “giant plume” is the largest collection of greenhouse gas in the air above the U.S. and is likely the result of natural gas leaks.

It’s located over a stretch of desert in Southeast New Mexico, and NASA scientists have studied the methane cloud as a potent climate changer for the past three years.

When it first appeared, scientists questioned its existence.

“We couldn’t be sure that the signal was real,” NASA researcher Christian Frankenberg told the Washington Post.

But NASA teams and University of Michigan scientists verified the methane “hot spot” in October. The study’s lead author Eric Kort says it’s unlikely that the methane emissions were caused by fracking alone, as the period in which scientists have studied the cloud predates “the widespread use of hydraulic fracturing.” Kort says the methane emissions are likely due instead to leaks in natural gas extraction and processing equipment in New Mexico's San Juan Basin.

"The results are indicative that emissions from established fossil fuel harvesting techniques are greater than inventoried," Kort said. "There's been so much attention on high-volume hydraulic fracturing, but we need to consider the industry as a whole."

Although not detectable by the naked eye, the cloud is visible from outer space. NASA scientists estimate the plume has reached over 2,500 square miles in the past decade.

It’s only the latest episode of documented massive gas leaks, and infrared cameras are currently being used to detect the natural gas surfacing from wells and compressors across the country.

Methane is considered to be twenty times more harmful a greenhouse gas than carbon-dioxide.

(Excerpt) Read more at us.sputniknews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: New Mexico
KEYWORDS: climatechange; climatechangehoax; fracking; globalwarming; globalwarminghoax; greenhousegas; methane; methanecloud; nasa; putinmedia; uranus
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To: smokingfrog

Not me!


21 posted on 12/31/2014 2:57:29 PM PST by ThomasThomas (EGO venit lego tantum titulus Posteri)
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To: smokingfrog

Dumb question:

Won’t the wind disperse this ‘cloud’....or at least move it along?

What is so special about methane that it goes straight up in the air and never moves?


22 posted on 12/31/2014 2:57:51 PM PST by lacrew
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To: smokingfrog

23 posted on 12/31/2014 2:58:33 PM PST by Autonomous User (During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.)
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To: xrmusn

When you do that, turn to the person next to you and say out loud, “Look at me, they’ll think I did it”.


24 posted on 12/31/2014 2:59:14 PM PST by MileHi (Liberalism is an ideology of parasites, hypocrites, grievance mongers, victims, and control freaks.)
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Comment #25 Removed by Moderator

To: smokingfrog

Too many cows farting at the same time.


26 posted on 12/31/2014 3:00:03 PM PST by kaehurowing
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To: smokingfrog

The dog did it!


27 posted on 12/31/2014 3:00:11 PM PST by dhs12345
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To: RegulatorCountry
It took me a moment to find it, but here's a image that includes most of the US:


28 posted on 12/31/2014 3:00:16 PM PST by justlurking (tagline removed, as demanded by Admin Moderator)
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To: smokingfrog

“Methane is considered to be twenty times more harmful a greenhouse gas than carbon-dioxide.”

“harmful” = a classic case of begging the question.

“20 times more harmful...”, which means it’s still far, far, less effective than water vapor, plumes of which I see almost every day.


29 posted on 12/31/2014 3:00:49 PM PST by Chaguito
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To: justlurking

Yep, it’s gone.


30 posted on 12/31/2014 3:01:08 PM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: smokingfrog

Spread the propaganda bull before Obama’s Global Warming Executive Orders


31 posted on 12/31/2014 3:01:11 PM PST by molson209 (Blank)
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To: smokingfrog

He who smelt it, dealt it.


32 posted on 12/31/2014 3:01:13 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: smokingfrog

Some guy in San Diego had too many burritos.


33 posted on 12/31/2014 3:01:45 PM PST by july4thfreedomfoundation (Everytime the cash register rings in a gun store, a Founding Father gets his wings.)
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To: smokingfrog
So, where is the real data so we can see what all the fuss is about. I mean really, the whole CO2 panic is over a couple dozen PARTS PER MILLION increase over a couple dozen decades. How many parts per million is the methane hullabaloo all about? Here is what it is about......ECO-PROFITEERING.
34 posted on 12/31/2014 3:02:33 PM PST by Trteamer ( (Eat Meat, Wear Fur, Own Guns, FReep Leftists, Drive an SUV, Drill A.N.W.R., Drill the Gulf, Vote)
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To: smokingfrog

...a GIANT methane cloud over the U.S...

Can’t be seen by the naked eye, ONLY from space from GOVERNMENT equipment... yeah, right...

Caused by YOU and me!

Ooops! We’re going to have to take more control over your household conveniences and lifestyle... Oh, and a new TAX to “deal with this problem”

-it’s for our OWN good... Trust them, they’re the government.


35 posted on 12/31/2014 3:02:46 PM PST by joethedrummer
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To: lacrew
What is so special about methane that it goes straight up in the air and never moves?

The article doesn't say it, but the map that I posted (from NASA) is actually the average methane concentration above background, over 6-7 years of data.

It's not a "cloud". It's a plume that is being continuously replenished from the sources on the ground.

36 posted on 12/31/2014 3:03:02 PM PST by justlurking (tagline removed, as demanded by Admin Moderator)
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To: smokingfrog

Can’t be; the largest methane cloud has to be over Washington, DC.


37 posted on 12/31/2014 3:03:07 PM PST by Truth29
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To: lacrew

I wonder why there isn’t a monstrous cloud over the Permian Basin in West Texas?


38 posted on 12/31/2014 3:03:55 PM PST by Dusty Road (")
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To: smokingfrog
So now they're worried about an organic gas that is produced naturally?

What next...water?

Oh, wait...

39 posted on 12/31/2014 3:04:05 PM PST by Bratch
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To: stars & stripes forever
Burl Ives - Ghost Riders In The Sky
40 posted on 12/31/2014 3:04:40 PM PST by jazusamo (0bama to go 'full-Mussolini' after elections: Mark Levin)
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