ECOCIDE
Baltic Sea pipeline leak damages marine life and climate
APTOPIX Europe Pipelines
A large disturbance in the sea can be observed off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 following a series of unusual leaks on two natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany have triggered concerns about possible sabotage. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says she "cannot rule out" sabotage after three leaks were detected on Nord Stream 1 and 2.
(Danish Defence Command via AP)
CHRISTINA LARSON
Thu, September 29, 2022
WASHINGTON (AP) — Methane escaping from the damaged Nord Stream pipelines that run between Russia and Europe is likely to result in the biggest known gas leak to take place over a short period of time and highlights the problem of large methane escapes elsewhere around the world, scientists say.
There is still uncertainty in estimating total damage, but researchers say vast plumes of this potent greenhouse gas will have significant detrimental impacts on the climate.
Immediate harm to marine life and fisheries in the Baltic Sea and to human health will also result because benzene and other trace chemicals are typically present in natural gas, researchers say.
“This will probably be the biggest gas leak ever, in terms of its rate,” said Stanford University climate scientist Rob Jackson.
The velocity of the gas erupting from four documented leaks in the pipelines — which the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has attributed to sabotage — is part of what makes the impacts severe.
When methane leaks naturally leaks from vents on the ocean floor, the quantities are usually small and the gas is mostly absorbed by seawater. “But this is not a normal situation for gas release,” said Jackson. “We're not talking about methane bubbling up to the surface like seltzer water, but a plume of rushing gas,” he said.
Jackson and other scientists estimate that between 50% and nearly 100% of total methane emitted from the pipeline will reach the atmosphere.
The Danish government issued a worst case scenario that assumed all the gas reached the air, and German officials Thursday issued a somewhat lower one.
In the meantime, it's nearly impossible for anyone to approach the highly flammable plume to attempt to curb the release of gas, which energy experts estimate may continue until Sunday.
“Methane is very flammable — if you go in there, you'd have a good chance of it being a funeral pyre,” said Ira Leifer, an atmospheric scientist. If the gas-air mix was within a certain range, an airplane could easily ignite travelling into the plume, for example.
Methane isn't the only risk. “Natural gas isn't refined to be super clean — there are trace elements of other compounds, like benzene,” a carcinogen, said Leifer.
“The amount of these trace elements cumulatively entering the environment is significant right now — this will cause issues for fisheries and marine ecosystems and people who potentially eat those fish," he said.
David Archer, a professor in the geophysical sciences department at University of Chicago who focuses on the global carbon cycle, said that escape of methane in the Baltic Sea is part of the much larger worldwide problem of methane emissions.
The gas is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for a significant share of the climate disruption people are already experiencing. That is because it is 82.5 times more potent than carbon dioxide at absorbing the sun’s heat and warming the Earth, over the short term.
Climate scientist have found that methane emissions from the oil and gas industry are far worse than what companies are reporting, despite claims by major companies that they’ve reduced their emissions.
Scientists measuring methane from satellites in space have found that emissions from oil and gas operations are usually at least twice as high as what the companies reported, said Thomas Lauvaux, climate scientist at University of Reims in France.
Many of those so-called leaks are not accidental. Companies release the gas during routine maintenance. Lauvaux and other scientists observed more than 1,500 major methane leaks globally, and potentially tens of thousands of smaller leaks, using satellites, he said.
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AP reporters Patrick Whittle contributed from Portland, Maine, Seth Borenstein from Washington, DC., and Cathy Bussewitz from New York.
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
The Nord Stream pipeline methane gas leak could be one of the largest and pose a huge climate change risk, experts say
Marianne Guenot
Thu, September 29, 2022
Danish military video of bubbles in Baltic Sea where Nord Stream pipeline leaked.
Marianne Guenot
Thu, September 29, 2022
Danish military video of bubbles in Baltic Sea where Nord Stream pipeline leaked.
Danish Defense Command
A natural gas pipeline, which may have been deliberately sabotaged, is spewing methane in the Baltic Sea.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and leaks have been prime targets to slow the rate of climate change.
It's unclear how much methane is reaching the atmosphere, but this could be "disastrous," an expert said.
Reports that a natural gas pipeline has ruptured in the Baltic Sea are causing fears that the methane leak could negatively impact climate change, experts said.
Experts told various news outlets though it is too early to say how much methane from the Nord Stream pipelines will reach the atmosphere, the leaks have the potential to have a substantial effect on climate change.
"There are a number of uncertainties, but if these pipelines fail, the impact to the climate will be disastrous and could even be unprecedented," atmospheric chemist David McCabe, senior scientist at the non-profit Clean Air Task Force, told Reuters.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas
Though carbon dioxide (CO2) remains the main long-term driver of the climate crisis, methane leaks have become a hot-button issue to help control the progression of the climate crisis in the short term.
That's because methane is a greenhouse gas — it very effectively traps heat from the planet in the atmosphere instead of letting it dissipate into space.
Though it is not as long-lived as CO2, which floats in the atmosphere for much longer after it is released, methane is much better at trapping heat: about 30 times better than CO2 over 100 years.
Because of this, sharp cuts to methane emissions are a vital lever to curb the rate of climate change in the short term.
If all of the methane contained in the pipelines were to reach the atmosphere, it could seriously set the world back.
The equivalent of a third of Denmark's yearly emissions are contained in both pipelines
Four leaks have now been found along the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that cross the Baltic Sea.
The leaks are thought to be the result of "deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage," NATO said in a statement Thursday.
Though the pipelines were not being used when they were breached, they were full of natural gas — about 778 million cubic meters in total, per The Danish Energy Agency.
Seventy to 90% of natural gas is methane.
If it were all released from the pipeline, that would be the equivalent of 32% of the Danish annual CO2 emissions in 2020.
But it's not clear how much of that methane will reach the atmosphere.
Potential to be the 'one of the biggest gas leak'
How much of the methane contained in the Nord Stream pipelines will reach the atmosphere is difficult to estimate, Cooper told Reuters.
The rate of emission depends on how big the breach is and other factors, Jasmin Cooper, a research associate at Imperial College London's department of chemical engineering, told The Guardian.
Even without the pipelines emptying completely, the emissions could be substantial.
Jean-Francois Gauthier, vice president of measurements at the commercial methane-measuring satellite firm GHGSat, provided Reuters with a "conservative estimate" of emissions at the time of the breach.
He thinks altogether, the leaks likely released about 500 metric tons of methane per hour into the sea at first and are releasing less over time.
By comparison, the 2015-2016 Aliso Canyon leak released 97,000 metric tons of methane into the air in total, CNN reported.
That doesn't mean all of that methane will reach the surface. For instance, microbes are known to absorb some of the methane as it passes through the water, McCabe told Reuters.
Grant Allen, a professor of Earth and environmental science at Manchester University, told the Guardian, however, this is likely to have little effect.
"My scientific experience is telling me that – with a big blow-up like this – methane will not have time to be attenuated by nature. So a significant proportion will be vented as methane gas," Allen said.
"It has the potential to be one of the biggest gas leaks," Cooper told The Guardian.
A natural gas pipeline, which may have been deliberately sabotaged, is spewing methane in the Baltic Sea.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and leaks have been prime targets to slow the rate of climate change.
It's unclear how much methane is reaching the atmosphere, but this could be "disastrous," an expert said.
Reports that a natural gas pipeline has ruptured in the Baltic Sea are causing fears that the methane leak could negatively impact climate change, experts said.
Experts told various news outlets though it is too early to say how much methane from the Nord Stream pipelines will reach the atmosphere, the leaks have the potential to have a substantial effect on climate change.
"There are a number of uncertainties, but if these pipelines fail, the impact to the climate will be disastrous and could even be unprecedented," atmospheric chemist David McCabe, senior scientist at the non-profit Clean Air Task Force, told Reuters.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas
Though carbon dioxide (CO2) remains the main long-term driver of the climate crisis, methane leaks have become a hot-button issue to help control the progression of the climate crisis in the short term.
That's because methane is a greenhouse gas — it very effectively traps heat from the planet in the atmosphere instead of letting it dissipate into space.
Though it is not as long-lived as CO2, which floats in the atmosphere for much longer after it is released, methane is much better at trapping heat: about 30 times better than CO2 over 100 years.
Because of this, sharp cuts to methane emissions are a vital lever to curb the rate of climate change in the short term.
If all of the methane contained in the pipelines were to reach the atmosphere, it could seriously set the world back.
The equivalent of a third of Denmark's yearly emissions are contained in both pipelines
Four leaks have now been found along the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that cross the Baltic Sea.
The leaks are thought to be the result of "deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage," NATO said in a statement Thursday.
Though the pipelines were not being used when they were breached, they were full of natural gas — about 778 million cubic meters in total, per The Danish Energy Agency.
Seventy to 90% of natural gas is methane.
If it were all released from the pipeline, that would be the equivalent of 32% of the Danish annual CO2 emissions in 2020.
But it's not clear how much of that methane will reach the atmosphere.
Potential to be the 'one of the biggest gas leak'
How much of the methane contained in the Nord Stream pipelines will reach the atmosphere is difficult to estimate, Cooper told Reuters.
The rate of emission depends on how big the breach is and other factors, Jasmin Cooper, a research associate at Imperial College London's department of chemical engineering, told The Guardian.
Even without the pipelines emptying completely, the emissions could be substantial.
Jean-Francois Gauthier, vice president of measurements at the commercial methane-measuring satellite firm GHGSat, provided Reuters with a "conservative estimate" of emissions at the time of the breach.
He thinks altogether, the leaks likely released about 500 metric tons of methane per hour into the sea at first and are releasing less over time.
By comparison, the 2015-2016 Aliso Canyon leak released 97,000 metric tons of methane into the air in total, CNN reported.
That doesn't mean all of that methane will reach the surface. For instance, microbes are known to absorb some of the methane as it passes through the water, McCabe told Reuters.
Grant Allen, a professor of Earth and environmental science at Manchester University, told the Guardian, however, this is likely to have little effect.
"My scientific experience is telling me that – with a big blow-up like this – methane will not have time to be attenuated by nature. So a significant proportion will be vented as methane gas," Allen said.
"It has the potential to be one of the biggest gas leaks," Cooper told The Guardian.
Record methane leak flows from damaged Baltic Sea pipelines
APTOPIX Europe Pipelines
A large disturbance in the sea can be observed off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 following a series of unusual leaks on two natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany have triggered concerns about possible sabotage. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says she "cannot rule out" sabotage after three leaks were detected on Nord Stream 1 and 2.
(Danish Defence Command via AP)
JAN M. OLSEN and PATRICK WHITTLE
Wed, September 28, 2022
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Methane leaking from the damaged Nord Stream pipelines is likely to be the biggest burst of the potent greenhouse gas on record, by far.
The Nord Stream pipeline leaks that were pumping huge volumes of methane into the Baltic Sea and atmosphere could discharge as much as five times as much of the potent greenhouse as was released by the Aliso Canyon disaster, the largest known terrestrial release of methane in U.S. history. It is also the equivalent of one third of Denmark’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions, a Danish official warned Wednesday.
“Whoever ordered this should be prosecuted for war crimes and go to jail,” said Rob Jackson, a Stanford University climate scientist. Two scientists looked at the official worst case scenario estimates provided by the Danish government — 778 million cubic meters of gas — for The Associated Press. Jackson and David Hastings, a retired chemical oceanographer in Gainesville, Florida each calculated that would be an equivalent of roughly half a million metric tons of methane. The Aliso Canyon disaster released 90-100,000 metric tons.
Andrew Baxter, a chemical engineer who formerly worked in the offshore oil and gas industry, and is now at the environmental group EDF thought the Danish estimate was likely too high. He had a more conservative estimate. But it was still more than double the Aliso Canyon disaster.
“That's one thing that is consistent with these estimates," he said, “It's catastrophic for the climate.”
Kristoffer Böttzauw, head of the Danish Energy Agency, said emissions from the three leaks on the underwater Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines correspond to approximately 32% of annual Danish carbon dioxide emissions. Danish emissions in 2020 were approximately 45 million tonnes of CO2.
Sabotage was suspected to have caused the leaks, and seismologists said Tuesday that explosions rattled the Baltic Sea before they were discovered. Some European officials and energy experts have said Russia is likely to blame since it directly benefits from higher energy prices and economic anxiety across Europe. But others cautioned against pointing fingers until investigators are able to determine what happened.
Methane seen bubbling at the ocean surface was an indication of “a strong upward flow,” according to Paul Balcombe, a member of the engineering faculty at the department of chemical engineering at Imperial College London.
The loss of pressure in the pipe likely meant a large amount of gas was already lost, he said. The impacts of the gas leak are still coming into focus, Balcombe said, but are likely to be significant.
“It would have a very large environmental and climate impact indeed, even if it released a fraction of this," he said.
Methane is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for a significant share of the climate disruption people are already experiencing. That is because it is 82.5 times more potent than carbon dioxide at absorbing the sun’s heat and warming the Earth.
Böttzauw, told a press conference that the agency expects the gas to be out of the pipes, that run from Russia to Germany, by Sunday.
“We believe that half the gas is out by now of one of the two pipes,” Böttzauw said. “We are talking about a huge spill of several million cubic meters of gas.”
The Danish agency statement added that its calculation was based on information from operators Nord Stream AG and Nord Stream 2 AG about the content of natural gas in the three pipelines that are leaking.
The incidents come as the EU struggles to keep a lid on soaring gas and electricity prices.
“As long as there is gas, it dangerous to be there,” Böttzauw said, declining to say when experts would be able to go down and see the pipes, which he said was made of 12-centimeter (5-inch) thick steel coated with concrete. They lie on the seabed between 70 and 90 meters (230 feet and 295 feet) deep.
The leaks all were in international waters. Two were within the Danish exclusive economic zone while the third is in the Swedish equivalent.
_____
Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Associated Press writer Seth Borenstein contributed from Washington, DC.
____
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
JAN M. OLSEN and PATRICK WHITTLE
Wed, September 28, 2022
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Methane leaking from the damaged Nord Stream pipelines is likely to be the biggest burst of the potent greenhouse gas on record, by far.
The Nord Stream pipeline leaks that were pumping huge volumes of methane into the Baltic Sea and atmosphere could discharge as much as five times as much of the potent greenhouse as was released by the Aliso Canyon disaster, the largest known terrestrial release of methane in U.S. history. It is also the equivalent of one third of Denmark’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions, a Danish official warned Wednesday.
“Whoever ordered this should be prosecuted for war crimes and go to jail,” said Rob Jackson, a Stanford University climate scientist. Two scientists looked at the official worst case scenario estimates provided by the Danish government — 778 million cubic meters of gas — for The Associated Press. Jackson and David Hastings, a retired chemical oceanographer in Gainesville, Florida each calculated that would be an equivalent of roughly half a million metric tons of methane. The Aliso Canyon disaster released 90-100,000 metric tons.
Andrew Baxter, a chemical engineer who formerly worked in the offshore oil and gas industry, and is now at the environmental group EDF thought the Danish estimate was likely too high. He had a more conservative estimate. But it was still more than double the Aliso Canyon disaster.
“That's one thing that is consistent with these estimates," he said, “It's catastrophic for the climate.”
Kristoffer Böttzauw, head of the Danish Energy Agency, said emissions from the three leaks on the underwater Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines correspond to approximately 32% of annual Danish carbon dioxide emissions. Danish emissions in 2020 were approximately 45 million tonnes of CO2.
Sabotage was suspected to have caused the leaks, and seismologists said Tuesday that explosions rattled the Baltic Sea before they were discovered. Some European officials and energy experts have said Russia is likely to blame since it directly benefits from higher energy prices and economic anxiety across Europe. But others cautioned against pointing fingers until investigators are able to determine what happened.
Methane seen bubbling at the ocean surface was an indication of “a strong upward flow,” according to Paul Balcombe, a member of the engineering faculty at the department of chemical engineering at Imperial College London.
The loss of pressure in the pipe likely meant a large amount of gas was already lost, he said. The impacts of the gas leak are still coming into focus, Balcombe said, but are likely to be significant.
“It would have a very large environmental and climate impact indeed, even if it released a fraction of this," he said.
Methane is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for a significant share of the climate disruption people are already experiencing. That is because it is 82.5 times more potent than carbon dioxide at absorbing the sun’s heat and warming the Earth.
Böttzauw, told a press conference that the agency expects the gas to be out of the pipes, that run from Russia to Germany, by Sunday.
“We believe that half the gas is out by now of one of the two pipes,” Böttzauw said. “We are talking about a huge spill of several million cubic meters of gas.”
The Danish agency statement added that its calculation was based on information from operators Nord Stream AG and Nord Stream 2 AG about the content of natural gas in the three pipelines that are leaking.
The incidents come as the EU struggles to keep a lid on soaring gas and electricity prices.
“As long as there is gas, it dangerous to be there,” Böttzauw said, declining to say when experts would be able to go down and see the pipes, which he said was made of 12-centimeter (5-inch) thick steel coated with concrete. They lie on the seabed between 70 and 90 meters (230 feet and 295 feet) deep.
The leaks all were in international waters. Two were within the Danish exclusive economic zone while the third is in the Swedish equivalent.
_____
Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Associated Press writer Seth Borenstein contributed from Washington, DC.
____
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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