What makes methane gas

Such grazers host microbes in their stomachs, gut-filling hitchhikers that help them break down and absorb the nutrients from tough grasses. Those microbes produce methane as their waste, which wafts out of both ends of cows. The manure that cattle and other grazers produce is also a site for microbes to do their business, producing even more methane. There are 1. Other agricultural endeavors pump methane into the atmosphere, too. And some scientists think they can see the moment when rice production took off in Asia, about 5, years ago, because methane concentrations—recorded in tiny bubbles of ancient air trapped in ice cores in Antarctica—rose rapidly.

Methane also leaks into the atmosphere at gas and oil drilling sites. There are strict rules in place in many states and countries about how much leakage is allowed, but those rules have proven difficult to enforce.

Recent studies suggest that wells in the U. Worldwide, the energy sector contributes about a quarter of the annual methane budget. Another major source? Microbes in landfills and sewage treatment centers chomp through the detritus humans leave behind and in the process pump out tons of methane each year—about 14 percent of the U.

Under high pressure, like the pressures found deep at the bottom of the ocean, methane solidifies into a slush-like material called methane hydrate. The hydrates are stable unless something comes along to disturb them, like a plume of warm water. A massive warming event that occurred about 55 million years ago may have been kicked off by destabilized hydrates, some scientists think. Methane percolated up from the seafloor into the atmosphere, flooding it with the heat-trapping gas and forcing the planet to warm drastically and quickly.

In the modern atmosphere, methane concentrations have risen by more than percent since All rights reserved. Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Greenhouse gases like methane heat up the atmosphere, and as much as 90 percent of that excess heat is absorbed by the oceans. This heat causes seawater to expand in volume. This effect, along with glacial melting, causes sea levels to rise.

In , scientists ran computer simulations that showed thermal expansion caused by methane continues for centuries even after the gas has dissipated from the atmosphere.

And finally, there are health benefits to regulating methane. Emitting the gas can actually lead to higher levels of ozone in the atmosphere, says Varon. Ozone can cause a number of health problems such as shortness of breath and aggravate lung conditions like asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis, according to the EPA.

He and his colleagues work with government agencies that use satellites to pinpoint where emissions are highest. This information can help identify facilities that are leaking methane and lead to better monitoring, and subsequently, regulations of oil and natural gas operations around the world.

An original version of this article stated that due to a chemical reaction most of methane's atmospheric lifetime is spent as a CO2 molecule. We've since clarified the statement to reflect that the chemical reaction occurs at the end of methane's atmospheric lifetime. We regret the error. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Created by Andrew Daniels using Getty Images. Methane is a colorless, odorless, and highly flammable gas, and the main component in natural gas, which is used to generate electricity and heat homes around the world.

Methane accounted for roughly 10 percent of all human-driven greenhouse gas emissions in the U. The EPA announced in August that it would roll back regulations on methane gas. So why is this such a big deal? Improving the insulation of buildings, traveling in more fuel-efficient vehicles, and using more efficient electrical appliances are all ways to reduce energy use, and thus CO 2 emissions. Reducing personal energy use by turning off lights and electronics when not in use reduces electricity demand.

Reducing distance traveled in vehicles reduces petroleum consumption. Both are ways to reduce energy CO 2 emissions through conservation. Producing more energy from renewable sources and using fuels with lower carbon contents are ways to reduce carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide capture and sequestration is a set of technologies that can potentially greatly reduce CO 2 emissions from new and existing coal- and gas-fired power plants, industrial processes, and other stationary sources of CO 2.

For example, capturing CO 2 from the stacks of a coal-fired power plant before it enters the atmosphere, transporting the CO 2 via pipeline, and injecting the CO 2 deep underground at a carefully selected and suitable subsurface geologic formation, such as a nearby abandoned oil field, where it is securely stored.

Some of the excess carbon dioxide will be absorbed quickly for example, by the ocean surface , but some will remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years, due in part to the very slow process by which carbon is transferred to ocean sediments. Qin, G. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.

Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P. Midgley eds. In , methane CH 4 accounted for about 10 percent of all U. Human activities emitting methane include leaks from natural gas systems and the raising of livestock. Methane is also emitted by natural sources such as natural wetlands.

In addition, natural processes in soil and chemical reactions in the atmosphere help remove CH 4 from the atmosphere. Methane's lifetime in the atmosphere is much shorter than carbon dioxide CO 2 , but CH 4 is more efficient at trapping radiation than CO 2. Pound for pound, the comparative impact of CH 4 is 25 times greater than CO 2 over a year period.

Globally, percent of total CH 4 emissions come from human activities. Methane is also emitted from a number of natural sources. Natural wetlands are the largest source, emitting CH 4 from bacteria that decompose organic materials in the absence of oxygen. Smaller sources include termites, oceans, sediments, volcanoes, and wildfires. To find out more about the role of CH 4 in warming the atmosphere and its sources, visit the Climate Change Indicators page.

Methane emissions in the United States decreased by 15 percent between and During this time period, emissions increased from sources associated with agricultural activities, while emissions decreased from sources associated with landfills, coal mining, and from natural gas and petroleum systems. There are a number of ways to reduce CH 4 emissions.

Some examples are discussed below. EPA has a series of voluntary programs for reducing CH 4 emissions, in addition to regulatory initiatives. EPA also supports the Global Methane Initiative , an international partnership encouraging global methane reduction strategies. Upgrading the equipment used to produce, store, and transport oil and natural gas can reduce many of the leaks that contribute to CH 4 emissions.

Methane from coal mines can also be captured and used for energy. Methane from manure management practices can be reduced and captured by altering manure management strategies. Additionally, modifications to animal feeding practices may reduce emissions from enteric fermentation. Because CH 4 emissions from landfill gas are a major source of CH 4 emissions in the United States, emission controls that capture landfill CH 4 are an effective reduction strategy.

Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.