Nitrous oxide is produced by microbes in nearly all soils. Most of our nitrous oxide emissions come from agriculture: N 2O is produced when we apply nitrogen fertilizers to soils. So, tackling methane emissions could be an effective and rapid way to mitigate some of the impacts of climate change – on the timeframe of decades. This means that reductions in methane emissions quickly result in reductions in the methane concentrations in the atmosphere. The average ‘lifetime’ of methane in the atmosphere is around 12 years. This means that after it accumulates in the atmosphere, it is removed relatively quickly – on the timescale of decades in contrast to CO 2 which can persist in the atmosphere for centuries or even thousands of years. Methane is a very ‘short-lived’ greenhouse gas. 4 How long does methane stay in the atmosphere? This means that, despite contributing only 3% of greenhouse gas emissions in terms of mass (tonnes of carbon), methane has been responsible for around 23% of radiative forcing since 1750. Over a 100-year timescale, and without considering climate feedbacks, one tonne of methane would generate 28 times the amount of warming as one tonne of CO 2. Methane is a much stronger greenhouse gas than CO 2 in terms of its ‘warming potential’. What is the warming potential of methane compared to CO 2? Fossil fuel production: methane can be released during oil and gas extraction – a category often termed ‘fugitive emissions’.Waste: the decomposition of organic waste in landfills produces methane.Biomass burning: methane is produced from the incomplete combustion of large-scale burning of woodlands, savanna and agricultural waste.Rice cultivation produces methane – waterlogged paddy fields provide an ideal environment for microbes to produce methane in a process called ‘methanogenesis’.Livestock (ruminant animals – cattle, goats, and sheep) produce methane through a process called ‘enteric fermentation’.Agriculture, fossil fuel production, and the management of waste are the primary sources of methane emissions:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |