Scientists stunned: Volcano cleans up after itself by removing methane from the air
A violent volcanic eruption in the South Pacific has revealed a surprising natural mechanism that could potentially help slow global warming. The finding provides entirely new insights into atmospheric chemistry and may inspire new methods to remove methane emissions from the air.
When the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai in the South Pacific erupted in January 2022, it was not only one of the most violent volcanic eruptions in modern times. The volcano also did something completely unexpected: it helped clean up some of the methane pollution it released. This phenomenon could potentially be key to how humans can slow global warming.
Using advanced satellite measurements, researchers observed unusually high concentrations of formaldehyde in the massive volcanic plume following the eruption. This was crucial evidence: when methane is destroyed in the atmosphere, formaldehyde forms as a short-lived intermediate.
It is known that volcanoes emit methane during eruptions, but until now it was not known that volcanic ash is also capable of partially cleaning up this pollution.
Explains Dr. Maarten van Herpen from Acacia Impact Innovation BV.
Retrieving formaldehyde from TROPOMI in a stratospheric volcanic plume is far outside the instrument's standard operating conditions — we had to carefully correct the satellite's sensitivity for the unusual altitude of the signal and account for interference from the exceptionally high sulfur dioxide concentrations. Getting these corrections right was essential to confirm that what we were seeing was real.
Said Dr. Isabelle De Smedt, Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy.
Complete article:
- "Volcano cleans up after itself by removing methane from the air" (University of Copenhagen)
Scientific publication:
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