HUGE methane cloud over New Mexico

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

The article implies it's being continuously fed/replenished by oil & gas producers. Otherwise you'd expect it to go away, of course. And I bet sometimes it does.

The media blamed oil, gas producers and mines.
But there is nothing out there.
It appears to be natural, due the lack of mines, oil, gas recovery and everything else they try to blame it on.

[Xist]

COACH Z: Once again, I point the blame squarely at tight pants.

If only there were some way to make a meme...

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

But there is nothing out there.
It appears to be natural, due the lack of mines, oil, gas recovery and everything else they try to blame it on.

Sorry, but there ARE a lot of mines and oil & gas wells out there. Look up "San Juan Basin", for instance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_Basin or Peabody Coal's Black Mesa mining operations.

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Sorry, but there ARE a lot of mines and oil & gas wells out there. Look up "San Juan Basin", for instance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_Basin or Peabody Coal's Black Mesa mining operations.

The only problem is the mines out there are not under or near the methane cloud.
There is one mine near the methane cloud but it is defiantly not a coal mine, out that way, if its not a coal mine, then its likely a uranium mine.
Under and near the methane cloud there are no oil fields, no pump jacks, no gas lines to be seen. All that is about 100 miles further east of what the satellite picked up.
There is an unusual geologic formation almost directly under the cloud and a little to the west, looks like the surface of the moon. That is where I bet it is coming from.
I have been told that there is one place out that way some were on an Indian reservation where the ground can be lit on fire because there is so much gas seeping up out of it.

Since there were no methane detecting satellites up there before any oil or gas recovery operations started, to blame it on mans activities at this point is only pure speculation. There is sand stone on top of the shale and coal the gas likely leaks out all on its own.

Even the wiki article says that NASA researchers reported "the source is likely from established gas, coal".
Its NASA you think they would be smart enough to figure out which mine, gas or oil operation is releasing the methane and get the EPA to stop it.
I think if there was a man made source releasing the methane the EPA would be over there in no time flat to fine the offender until they went out of business.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Sounds like a free source of heat energy that could be recovered for power generation or other uses like the methane from cattle farms is used to power the farm it self. Also methane recovered from garbage piles.

It makes more sense than corn-based ethanol. Just not sure about how that methane cloud could be recovered.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I think if there was a man made source releasing the methane the EPA would be over there in no time flat to fine the offender until they went out of business.

I imagine that some government official wants to fine the ground itself...

[Hersbird]

And, Charlie, light a match!

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Under and near the methane cloud there are no oil fields, no pump jacks, no gas lines to be seen. All that is about 100 miles further east of what the satellite picked up.

Image of methane cloud: http://s3.amazonaws.com/policymic-im...s8cg2tzjld.jpg

Map of San Juan Basin: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...nBasinUSGS.jpg

Link to map of San Juan Basin oil & gas wells: http://www.google.com/url?url=http:/...o_IXozlQr3sj6Q (large PDF file, takes a long time to load)

Looks to me like the oil & gas is spot on. Can't find a good map of the coal mines, but they are in the same area.

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Image of methane cloud: http://s3.amazonaws.com/policymic-im...s8cg2tzjld.jpg

Map of San Juan Basin: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...nBasinUSGS.jpg

Link to map of San Juan Basin oil & gas wells: http://www.google.com/url?url=http:/...o_IXozlQr3sj6Q (large PDF file, takes a long time to load)

Looks to me like the oil & gas is spot on. Can't find a good map of the coal mines, but they are in the same area.

That might work if there was no wind and the methane was allowed to go straight up.
Problem is that part of the country is very windy. Usually west to east, or south to north.

[collkid]

In other news. People still use AOL?!