US Space Dust Track Mission On ISS Finds 50 Methane Global Hot Spots Since July - NASA

The US Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission on board the International Space Station (ISS) has detected 50 global "hot spot" emitters of methane around the world into the Earth's atmosphere since July that are believed to be driving forces of global climate change, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said.

"In the data EMIT has collected since being installed on the International Space Station in July, the science team has identified more than 50 "super-emitters" in Central Asia, the middle East and the Southwestern United States," NASA and the JPL said in a press release on Tuesday.

Super-emitters are facilities, equipment and other infrastructure - typically in the fossil-fuel, waste or agriculture sectors - that emit methane at high rates, the release said.

"NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation mission is mapping the prevalence of key minerals in the planet's dust-producing deserts - information that will advance our understanding of airborne dust's effects on climate. (But also) EMIT has demonstrated another crucial capability: detecting the presence of methane, a potent greenhouse gas," the release added.

During its mission, EMIT will collect measurements of surface minerals in arid regions of Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Australia and this data will help researchers better understand airborne dust particles' role in heating and cooling Earth's atmosphere and surface, according to the release.