![\"methane](\"https:\/\/nilu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/microsoftteams-image.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cWe have never seen something like this at any of our observatories\u201d, says senior scientist Cathrine Lund Myhre.<\/p>\n
Scientists at NILU have calculated a preliminary estimate of a possible gas release volume over 24 hours based on the size of the pipeline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith many conservative assumptions about the actual pressure in the pipes, and release rate, we first found that at least 40 000 tons of methane may have been released into the ocean and atmosphere\u201d, says senior scientist Stephen Matthew Platt. \u201cWe have now made new calculations, and as of 30 September, we estimate that at least 80 000 tons of methane has been released from the Nord Stream pipelines.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the state bureau of statistics (SSB) in Norway, the Norwegian national annual emission of 17000 tons of methane from the oil and gas industry. The volume of methane gas released is well over four times that.<\/p>\n
Renewable energy sources needed<\/h2>\n
Atmospheric monitoring show that methane has increased strongly in the atmosphere last 15 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cMethane is the second most important greenhouse gas from human activity after carbon dioxide (CO2)\u201d, says senior scientist Cathrine Lund Myhre. \u201cOver a 20-year period, methane is an 82 times more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2<\/sub>.\u201d<\/p>\n Methane is considered to be a climate friendly energy source compared to e.g. coal.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, with leaks like this, the benefits are reduced\u201d, says Lund Myhre. \u201cFurthermore, this incident demonstrates the need of shifting to renewable energy sources to prevent such risks in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Such a large methane leak is very dramatic, but Platt points out that methane is only slightly toxic. Even amounts such as are now spreading through the atmosphere over large parts of southern Scandinavia is no health risk for humans or animals.<\/p>\n Platt, Lund Myhre and their colleague Sabine Eckhardt have used the model FLEXPART to simulate the transport and distribution of the methane gas cloud from the emissions. It suggested methane enhancements of several hundred parts per billion (ppb).<\/p>\n In the simulation, the methane cloud based on their estimated total emission from the Nord Stream pipes can be seen moving over the Nordic region (below).<\/p>\n \u201cIn a few days, we expect to see methane levels spike also at our Zeppelin Observatory on Svalbard\u201d, Platt says.<\/p>\nMethane gas cloud moves toward Svalbard<\/h2>\n