NASA's new Earth space mission, using the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation instrument or also known as EMIT, has discovered 50 "super-emitters" of methane, a gas that is estimated to be about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

EMIT has been mapping out the chemical composition of dust throughout our planet's desert regions since it was installed on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) in July. It has helped researchers understand more about how airborne dust affects Earth's climate.

Methane Super-Emitters

While that is the main objective of EMIT's mission, its other, less expected contribution to climate studies was announced on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The instrument is now also identifying massive plumes of heat-trapping methane gas all over the world, with more than 50 already found.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson released a statement saying that controlling methane output is the key to limiting global warming and its effects on our planet. The exciting new development will not only assist researchers in better pinpointing the origin of methane leaks but also provide insight into how they can be addressed in a much faster timeline, as per Space.

Nelson added that the ISS and NASA's more than two dozen satellites and instruments located in space have long been invaluable when it comes to determining changes to the planet's climate. The official noted that EMIT is proving itself to be a critical tool in measuring the potent greenhouse gas and how to stop it at its source.

EMIT is an imaging spectrometer that was designed to identify the chemical fingerprints of a variety of minerals on the surface of the Earth. Its ability to spot methane as well is a sort of happy accident.

According to NASA, the 50 super-emitters of methane that EMIT found were located in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Southwestern United States. These are facilities, equipment, and other infrastructure, typically in the fossil fuel, waste, or agriculture sectors, that produce methane at extremely high rates.

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Unique Capability

Methane is known to absorb infrared light in a unique pattern, called a spectral fingerprint, which EMIT is able to discern using its imaging spectrometer with high accuracy and precision. The instrument is also able to measure carbon dioxide levels.

The new observations are a result of broad coverage of the planet due to the space station's orbit and EMIT's ability to scan a large portion of Earth's surface that span dozens of miles. EMIT's instrument scientist and a senior research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, David Thompson, said that the results are exceptional.

Thompson noted that it is a unique capability that will increase the bar on efforts to attribute methane sources and mitigate emissions from human activities. Methane is known to make up a fraction of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, relative to carbon dioxide.

The study comes as a new study suggests that global emissions of methane from existing gas infrastructure may be up to five times more than previously believed. Current measures to burn off the powerful greenhouse gas allow far more to slip by than what was previously known, The Hill reported.

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