Study: Atmospheric Methane Levels Off
Atmospheric methane, a common greenhouse gas, has remained relatively stagnant for the last seven years following a two-decade rise, scientists at UC Irvine recently determined.
The finding suggests that methane may not be as large of a global warming threat as previously believed.
Instead, the study provides evidence that could make methane regulation possible. Researchers also discovered that periods of increased methane in the atmosphere correlated with rises in ethane, which is emitted during fires. This provides additional evidence that methane is created when burning biomass.
Professors F. Sherwood Rowland and Donald R. Blake, along with scientists Isobel J. Simpson and Simone Meinardi, said that the leveling off of methane may be due to leak-preventing repairs on oil and gas lines and storage facilities, which have been known to release methane. Other reasons may include reduced methane emissions from coal mining, rice paddies and natural gas production.
Methane also contributes to the formation of smog. Since the 1700s, the level of atmospheric methane has more than doubled. About two-thirds of emissions can be linked to human activities like fossil-fuel extraction, rice farming, landfill dumping and cattle raising.
While methane has significant effects, carbon dioxide – the major greenhouse gas emitted by burning fossil fuels – is the most threatening, according to Rowland, which emphasizes the need to reduce all gas emissions.
UCSD Ranks High in Scientific Impact
The work of UCSD researchers is among the most referenced in the United States, according to a new survey that ranked UCSD seventh in the nation for “”scientific impact.””
Thomas Scientific, a company that publishes scholarly research databases, ranked universities whose published work between the years of 2001 and 2005 has been cited by other scientists more frequently than other institutions.
UCSD ranked among the top 10 in six of the 21 scientific fields included in the survey: clinical medicine, plant and animal sciences, immunology, molecular biology and genetics, pharmacology and chemistry.
The journal Science Watch, an arm of Thomas Scientific that tracks trends and performances in research, ranked Harvard University first in “”highest impact U.S. universities,”” followed by Stanford University, UC Berkeley, University of Washington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale. At seventh, UCSD outranked Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, California Institute of Technology, UC San Francisco and Columbia University.
