1 Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Systems

Methane is the second largest contributor to human-caused global warming after carbon dioxide. Hansen and Sato (2004) and Hansen et al. (2007) suggested that a warming of the Earth to 1.8o C above the 1890-1910 baseline may trigger a large and rapid increase in the release of methane from the arctic due to melting of permafrost. While there is a wide range in both the magnitude and timing of projected carbon release from thawing permafrost in the literature (e.g. Schaefer et al., 2011), warming consistently leads to greater release. This release will therefore in turn cause a positive feedback of accelerated global warming (Zimov et al. 2006).

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