It was 12 miles wide, invisible to the naked eye and traveled across six counties to Florida’s largest city. And it’s still unclear who — or what — was responsible. The mysterious plume of methane, estimated to total 300 metric tons, was released north of Gainesville between May 2 and May 3, when it reached Jacksonville, according to Bluefield Technologies Inc., which analyzed data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P satellite.
A global-warming agent that’s 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide, methane has become a major source of concern for environmentalists and climate-minded investors who are stepping up pressure on energy companies to curb emissions of the gas from oil fields, pipelines, gas storage facilities and power plants. Satellite observations are beginning to make those leaks more transparent. Last year, Montreal-based GHGSat Inc. identified a giant methane cloud apparently from an oil and gas field in Turkmenistan, billing it the first discovery of an unknown industrial methane release from space.
Florida Methane Release
About 300 metric tons of methane was released near Gainesville, Florida between May 2 and May 3, spreading beyond Jacksonville
Source: Bluefield Technologies
“This capability means we no longer need to fight climate change blindfolded,” Yotam Ariel, the founder of Bluefield said. “We now have a tool to directly see what was once invisible and channel resources to reduce emissions quickly and effectively.”
The source of the Florida emission remains unknown, however. Its volume was equivalent to roughly 1% of total daily emissions from the U.S. natural gas system in 2018, Stanford University professor Adam Brandt said. Its epicenter was in Alachua County, according to Bluefield.