Full Transcript

Narration: Kathleen Gaeta

Transcript:

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Methane, like carbon dioxide, is

an important greenhouse gas

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that's contributed to about 1/3

of global warming. In recent

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years, atmospheric methane

levels have reached record

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highs. While fossil fuels,

agriculture and landfills make

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up a large percentage of human

caused sources, about 1/3 of

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methane emissions actually comes

from wetlands. What you're

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seeing here is a visualized

dataset of wetland methane

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emissions from around the globe

throughout the last several

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decades. These highlighted

regions are of particular

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interest because of their

concentrated wetland methane

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sources, which scientists are

working to better understand.

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Wetlands act as both a source

and sink for greenhouse gases,

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which means they both release

and store them. Wetland habitats

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are filled with things like

waterlogged soils and

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permafrost, which is what makes

them sizable carbon sinks. But

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as a warming climate causes

wetland soils to warm or flood

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carbon is released into the

atmosphere as methane. Methane

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is produced when there's a lack

of oxygen available for tiny

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carbon digesting microbes that

live in the soil. So in wetlands

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were flooded soils are deprived

of oxygen, those microbes that

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would have otherwise produced

carbon dioxide instead produce

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methane. NASA uses remote

sensing to monitor methane

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emissions from wetlands through

instruments like EMIT aboard the

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International Space Station,

airplane mountain instruments

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like AVIRIS NG and satellites

like Landsat and Europe Sentinel

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5 P. Locating and measuring the

sources of atmospheric methane

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is key to understanding how to

limit them so we can make better

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decisions for our future.