Four Corners Methane Hot Spot Explained

The Four Corners Methane Hot Spot (also called the San Juan Basin methane leak or New Mexico methane source or various related permutations) refers to a clustering of large methane sources near San Juan Basin, near Four Corners, New Mexico, United States. It is perhaps the largest source of methane release in the United States and accounts for about a tenth of the annual gas industry amount.[1] [2] The area has upwards of 40,000 oil and gas wells.[3] The exact cause of the methane leak remained unidentified as of 2015,[4] but appeared to be related to coalbed methane extraction.[2] [5]

The San Juan Basin contains the Fruitland coal formation. Ashley Ager, a geologist with LT Environmental, Inc., a company with oil and gas industry contracts, has argued that the leak is naturally occurring due to this formation contacting the surface.[6]

However, NASA researchers concluded in 2016 that oil and gas production and distribution activities were principally responsible for the methane releases.[7] The Four Corners area includes other methane sources such as seepage from coal mines, but researchers found these sources too small to explain the bulk of the observed emissions.

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Notes and References

  1. Kort. Four corners: The largest US methane anomaly viewed from space. Geophysical Research Letters. 41. 19. 6898–6903. 2014. 10.1002/2014GL061503. 2027.42/151283. free.
  2. Web site: Vaidyanathan . Gayathri . October 10, 2014 . The Biggest Methane Leak in America Is in New Mexico . .
  3. Web site: Thompson . Jonathan . August 31, 2015 . Unlocking the mystery of the Four Corners Methane Hot Spot . High Country News . Like many of the 40,000 or so oil and gas wells here in the San Juan Basin....
  4. News: Santhanam . Laura . June 3, 2015 . Why is there a huge methane hotspot in the American Southwest? . PBS .
  5. . April 7, 2015 . Scientists Take Aim at Four Corners Methane Mystery . Jet Propulsion Laboratory . The satellite observations were not detailed enough to reveal the actual sources of the methane in the Four Corners. Likely candidates include venting from oil and gas activities, which are primarily coalbed methane exploration and extraction in this region; active coal mines; and natural gas seeps..
  6. Web site: Fenton . James . May 12, 2016 . Geologist: Coal outcrops cause methane hot spot . Farmington Daily Times . June 29, 2016.
  7. Web site: Methane "hot spot" over Four Corners linked to oil, gas production sites. Elliott. Dan. 2016-08-15. The Denver Post. en-US. 2019-12-21.

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