At least 75 researchers study methane leaks in Four Corners

From the air, the rocky, sprawling San Juan Basin comes into focus like a scene in a classic Western. As a team of researchers board an aircraft on an April day to examine what’s below, a mysterious concentration of methane continues to spew around dramatic alpine peaks, desert canyons and ancient cliff dwellings. It is this methane seepage that has researchers both excited and worried ever since it was detected after a NASA report last year. The so-called “hot spot” in the Four Corners is responsible for producing the largest concentration of the greenhouse gas in the nation, in which methane can be seen leaking in real-time through thermal observations. With the Fruitland Formation of the San Juan Basin being the second largest gas-producing basin in the United States – covering portions of northern New Mexico and Southwest Colorado – the region provides a unique opportunity for researchers. “We’ve changed the composition of the atmosphere mainly by putting in carbon dioxide and methane, and that has changed the heat,” said Russ Schnell, deputy director of the Boulder-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Global Monitoring Division. “By changing the physics of the atmosphere, we’ve changed the thickness of the warm blanket that surrounds the Earth, and we’ve added a huge number more of down feathers to this blanket.” Schnell coordinated a team of at least 75 researchers who descended on the Four Corners for a month to determine what is causing the mysterious concentration of methane. The work has significant national and global implications, because findings could guide policymakers and the oil and gas industry in how they go about regulating and reacting to the venting of concerning gases, specifically methane...more