The National Academies recently began a new study, largely sponsored by CPO’s Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle, and Climate (AC4) program, to improve tracking of human-caused methane emissions in the US and eventually develop better methane reduction strategies.

A recently published study by the CPO’s Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle, and Climate (AC4) program details research that used in situ measurements to quantify methane emissions from various sources in the Four Corners area.

New research in Geophysical Research Letters and partially funded by CPO's AC4 program found that the Bakken Formation, an oil and gas field in North Dakota and Montana, is responsible for roughly 2 percent of the globe's ethane--about 250,000 tons per year. 

A joint-study conducted between NOAA and other partners reports that the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak in Los Angeles, California produced the largest methane leak in U.S. history.

Work supported by CPO's AC4 program found that the effects of melting permafrost in the Arctic could cost $43 trillion in extra economic damage by the end of the next century, on top of the more than the $300 trillion economic damage already predicted.