Pafos Live 9 December 2024
A new scientific study shows the existence of new sources of methane emissions in the Middle East and reveals significant discrepancies between measurements and regional inventories of this powerful greenhouse gas, which contributes significantly to climate change. The study describes the main findings of a pioneering oceanographic expedition to measure environmental parameters related to air quality and climate change, carried out in 2022 by researchers from the Cyprus Institute's Centre of Excellence for Climate and Atmospheric Research (CARE-C) and Germany's Max Planck Institute of Chemistry (MPIC), in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency (EAD), starting in Spain and ending in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
During measurements in the Mediterranean region, the researchers found that the methane levels recorded were consistent with model predictions and methane emission inventories in Europe. However, methane concentration levels in the Canal and Gulf of Suez were much higher than predicted by the corresponding models.
"The high levels of emissions measured in the Suez region were found to have come from a combination of sources that cannot be discerned through satellite observations," explains Dr. Efstratios Bourtsoukides, Assistant Professor at the Cyprus Institute and first author of the study.
Specifically, by analyzing methane concentrations along with other hydrocarbons, the researchers found that emissions came from a combination of urban activities, oil and gas industry operations, ship emissions, as well as leaks from the bottom of the Red Sea. The results demonstrate the crucial role of ground-based observations in accurately identifying the sources of methane and other pollutants, as well as expanding knowledge on the relationship between air quality and climate change.
The investigation also revealed significant discrepancies between measurements of methane emissions from regional oil and gas industry activities in the Arabian Peninsula region and the corresponding projected estimates.
Based on these findings, the study highlights the urgent need to conduct further atmospheric measurements to improve the accuracy of methane emission inventories in the Middle East. It is worth noting that methane remains in the atmosphere for a relatively short time compared to carbon dioxide, which is why rapidly reducing its emissions is considered vital to tackling the climate crisis on a global scale. Therefore, the use of high-precision data on methane emissions is paramount for policy-making and action planning to effectively tackle the climate crisis.
