A Canadian company that uses satellites to detect sources of methane emissions around the world said on Wednesday that it had discovered one of the largest artificial releases of powerful greenhouse gas ever seen coming from a coal mine in Russia earlier this year. year.
Montreal-based GHGSat said one of its satellites, known as Hugo, observed 13 methane jets at the Raspadskaya mine in Siberia on January 14. The incident probably led to the release of about 90 tons of methane into the atmosphere in the space of an hour, the company estimated.
“It was a really, really dramatic show,” Brody White, GHGSat’s director of energy, landfills and mines, told the Associated Press.
Reducing methane emissions from fossil fuel facilities has become a priority for governments seeking to take swift and effective action against climate change. This is because methane is a powerful heat-trapping gas, second only to carbon dioxide, which stays in the atmosphere longer.
Our satellites measured 13 different methane jets during one pass, ranging in size from 658 to 17,994 kg / h 🛰️ If the total discharge rate was maintained for one year, the mine would emit 764,319 tons of CH4 – enough to power 2.4 million homes 🏡 pic.twitter.com/rVmBNdbjBi
– @ghgsat
GHGSat said the jet found in Raspadskaya may have been deliberately released as a precautionary measure, as the gas could leak from the mines and ignite with potentially deadly results. Two methane explosions and a fire killed 91 people at the mine in 2010, one of the worst such disasters in post-Soviet times.
Companies can prevent uncontrolled methane emissions through best practices. Captured gas can be burned as fuel, reducing its impact on global warming.
More leaks
GHGSat said it measured additional jets over the mine during subsequent overflights in the coming weeks, although they did not reach the same “ultra-emission” scale observed on January 14.
“Even if it’s only for a short period of time, it doesn’t take long for the issue to be significant,” White said.
Manfredi Caltagirone, who heads the International Observatory on Methane Emissions under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program, said he was not aware of more methane emissions from a coal mine.
Model of the GHGSat satellite, which is the size of a microwave oven. (Kyle Bucks / CBC)
“If this event was the result of the accumulation of methane, which was then released at once, instead of several days, the impact on the environment would be the same as if a smaller train had to be released continuously for several days.” said Caltagiron. who did not participate in the monitoring of GHGSat.
“But from a safety point of view, it is worrying,” he said, citing recent mine explosions in Poland that killed 13 people.
However, the release was probably a very rare event, otherwise other methane satellites would catch them, Caltagiron said.
GHGSat said it had warned mine operator Raspadskaya of its findings, but had not received a response. The operator also did not respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
Several private and government satellites have been launched into orbit in recent years to help determine methane leaks and raise awareness of the risks they pose to climate and human health.
In one of the most advertised methane leaks in the United States, a 2015 explosion at a California natural gas storage facility affected residents of the San Fernando Valley and led to the evacuation of 8,000 homes.
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