NASA - Scientists Hunt for Acid Rain and Methane in Wetlands

Scientists Hunt for acid rain and methane wetlands


Depending on how you do something bad to you some good to have around. The fact that NASA scientists and others on the emission of greenhouse gases by a new study in this matter. Moore countries that acid rain researchers methane bacteria, prevents the production of a greenhouse gas found.

Methane is the natural process and human activity is warming the earth is a gas. Methane and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere the amount of the increase in the average temperature in comparison to the planet is warming.

Carbon, heat and moisture from the archaea to the production of methane, not a creature is known. Under normal conditions, these microbes in the soil organic carbon for energy and as a byproduct of the release of methane consumption. The ideal environment for microbes offer. When wetlands, another type of bacteria, the sulfate from acid rain and those that are less able to outcompete sulfate Archea what the total methane production.

Wetlands may produce as much as 320 million tons of methane annually but only about half of that, or 160 million tons, is ultimately released to the atmosphere. 160 million tonnes in the atmosphere of rest, never, as they dry from the surface ground water due to falling to the bottom of this is destroyed by wet oxidation. The natural oxidation, despite a lot of wetlands still about a third of annual global methane emissions in the main sources of methane.

"This micro-interactions in this process because of various factors on a complicated process," Elaine Matthews, NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies (estimated), for a scientist in New York said. Matthew is the co-acid rain and the author of the study of methane in wetlands. Methane emissions from wetlands of the "maximum amount when conditions are hot and humid, while the biggest reduction in methane emissions is reached when the location of wetlands, acid rain, high temperatures and rainfall in the wetlands of methane sulfates emissions of the best. These factors vary in space and time.

Matthew, 1960, the top of these processes to the emission of methane from wetlands in the industry are appropriate in accordance. However, methane emissions in the 21st century are expected to increase, climate change increases rapidly sulfate, to remove than the next - the industry's emissions of methane contamination in the wetlands on the sulfate has started.

How to determine the acid rain, among the followers of methane in wetlands, the study's principal author, Dr Vincent Gauci of Open University, UK and on the occasion of his colleagues. In the U.S., Britain and Sweden, was investigated whether a low-sulfate acid rain such as that of methane emissions in wetlands. They, the same amount of sulfate and acid rain as the amount of wetlands in the study. Results, for many years that these small amounts of sulfate between 30-40 per cent eliminates methane emissions is shown.

Matthew and the 21 climate experts expect an increase in emissions of methane in the course of the century as a response to climate change. He said that the fast sulfate, especially in Asia will increase forecast. Ecological balance in the 21st writers have tried to assess the century.

"If we all NASA computer model and implementation are in the world shows that acid rain, the effects of the 1960 - 2030 in the east actually reduces methane emissions, industrial," Gauci said. The increase in methane emissions is more than, as more than expected, wetlands are getting hot. In this way, the biggest source of methane for a cover in the form of acid rain works.

Acid rain on the image of attention Gauci. "We have the impression that acid rain is not a good thing - is that forests, grasslands, rivers and lakes such as acid rain damages natural ecosystems. Our results suggest that a small amount of pollution that was in May, also a positive greenhouse gas emissions in the fight against this influence is significant. In addition, the number on the complexity of the earth, "he noted.

More attention to negative aspects of pollution, but if all the scientists that the complexity of this world and the future of climate prediction to feel better, we want that in the not always well understood are the processes is not communication between a number of needs. "Acid rain that does not mean that's a good thing. Before we study how we really mean it to represent an attempt at a subtle relationship between globalization to work for the show are is relatively simple, "Matthew said.

However, human activity, especially for sulfate deposited around the short term at least one greenhouse gas, methane, the impact of the delay. The study recently in the proceedings of the National Academy of Science is published.

NASA's direction in the study, scientific study of all the people and the earth, solar system, and improving the life of the universe is working for.