Record Rainfall Linked to Surging Methane Emissions in East Africa

Scientists have long warned the public about compound climate events when climate change drivers combine with climate disasters. One occurrence may already be happening in East Africa, a study published Wednesday found.
In 2018 and 2019, East Africa experienced unusually wet seasons, provoked by warmer ocean temperatures in the western Indian Ocean and cooler temperatures in the eastern Indian Ocean. Together, the seasons caused widespread flooding and rising water levels.
At the same time, scientists also noticed a dramatic increase in methane emissions in the same region. The two events could be linked, the scientists warn.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that traps heat 28 times more effectively over a 100-year period than carbon dioxide, according to NASA. About 50 percent of methane emissions are produced from human activity, like agriculture, waste management, rice cultivation, as well as oil, gas and coal extraction.
An additional 30 percent of methane emissions are produced by ponds, lakes, rivers and wetlands, which cover over 131 million hectares in Africa alone, according to Wetlands International.
Wetlands are a necessary ecosystem for small-scale farmers in East Africa, providing purified water and healthy soil, and thus improving food security in the region, Wetlands International noted. Wetlands are also a reliable "buffer" against climate-caused disasters, Adrian Wood, a professor of sustainability at the University of Huddersfield wrote in The Conversation.
"The best known example of wetlands for disaster risk reduction is probably the mangrove swamps in the tropics," Wood wrote. "On the east and west coasts of Africa these areas provide a buffer against storm surges, cyclones and tsunamis, as well as providing breeding grounds for fish and storage of carbon."
But despite their ability to support economic livelihoods and safeguard communities against extreme weather, wetlands may also reach a breaking point. When wetlands in East Africa became flooded from extreme rainfall, methane emissions in the region were substantially higher than in past years, the study found, causing a 10 percent and 37 percent increase compared to previous years with average rainfalls.
"The extra emissions were equivalent to the UK's annual total emissions of methane in just a three-month period," Dr. Mark Lunt from the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences told the Institute of Physics, according to Phys.org.
As climate change grows more severe and extreme weather becomes the norm, surges in previously unaccounted for emissions should be expected, the scientists warn.
A similar effect may be occurring in New York City's sewage systems, another study performed by Riverkeeper found. When sewage systems overflowed, high concentrations of methane were released, linking rainfall to surges in greenhouse gas emissions.
"When setting goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cities aren't accounting for emissions that result from raw sewage releases to estuaries," Riverkeeper reported.
These findings could play an important role in setting future climate mitigation strategies and emissions limits, informing policymakers of additional sources of greenhouse gas emissions that were previously unknown. But these limits will also have to account for increases in severe weather events.
In East Africa, the frequency of extreme rainfall is expected to grow, professor Paul Palmer, from the University of Edinburgh, who co-authored the study, told the Institute of Physics, according to Phys.org. "Our findings show that such a future scenario will have far-reaching consequences for global concentrations of atmospheric methane."
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Wisdom the mōlī, or Laysan albatross, is the oldest wild bird known to science at the age of at least 70. She is also, as of February 1, a new mother.
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The Science Behind Frozen Wind Turbines – and How to Keep Them Spinning Through the Winter
By Hui Hu
Winter is supposed to be the best season for wind power – the winds are stronger, and since air density increases as the temperature drops, more force is pushing on the blades. But winter also comes with a problem: freezing weather.
Comparing rime ice and glaze ice shows how each changes the texture of the blade. Gao, Liu and Hu, 2021, CC BY-ND
Ice buildup changes air flow around the turbine blade, which can slow it down. The top photos show ice forming after 10 minutes at different temperatures in the Wind Research Tunnel. The lower measurements show airflow separation as ice accumulates. Icing Research Tunnel of Iowa State University, CC BY-ND
How ice builds up on the tips of turbine blades. Gao, Liu and Hu, 2021, CC BY-ND
While traditional investment in the ocean technology sector has been tentative, growth in Israeli maritime innovations has been exponential in the last few years, and environmental concern has come to the forefront.
theDOCK aims to innovate the Israeli maritime sector. Pexels
<p>The UN hopes that new investments in ocean science and technology will help turn the tide for the oceans. As such, this year kicked off the <a href="https://www.oceandecade.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030)</a> to galvanize massive support for the blue economy.</p><p>According to the World Bank, the blue economy is the "sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem," <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019338255#b0245" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Science Direct</a> reported. It represents this new sector for investments and innovations that work in tandem with the oceans rather than in exploitation of them.</p><p>As recently as Aug. 2020, <a href="https://www.reutersevents.com/sustainability/esg-investors-slow-make-waves-25tn-ocean-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters</a> noted that ESG Investors, those looking to invest in opportunities that have a positive impact in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, have been interested in "blue finance" but slow to invest.</p><p>"It is a hugely under-invested economic opportunity that is crucial to the way we have to address living on one planet," Simon Dent, director of blue investments at Mirova Natural Capital, told Reuters.</p><p>Even with slow investment, the blue economy is still expected to expand at twice the rate of the mainstream economy by 2030, Reuters reported. It already contributes $2.5tn a year in economic output, the report noted.</p><p>Current, upward <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/-innovation-blue-economy-2646147405.html" target="_self">shifts in blue economy investments are being driven by innovation</a>, a trend the UN hopes will continue globally for the benefit of all oceans and people.</p><p>In Israel, this push has successfully translated into investment in and innovation of global ports, shipping, logistics and offshore sectors. The "Startup Nation," as Israel is often called, has seen its maritime tech ecosystem grow "significantly" in recent years and expects that growth to "accelerate dramatically," <a href="https://itrade.gov.il/belgium-english/how-israel-is-becoming-a-port-of-call-for-maritime-innovation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iTrade</a> reported.</p><p>Driving this wave of momentum has been rising Israeli venture capital hub <a href="https://www.thedockinnovation.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">theDOCK</a>. Founded by Israeli Navy veterans in 2017, theDOCK works with early-stage companies in the maritime space to bring their solutions to market. The hub's pioneering efforts ignited Israel's maritime technology sector, and now, with their new fund, theDOCK is motivating these high-tech solutions to also address ESG criteria.</p><p>"While ESG has always been on theDOCK's agenda, this theme has become even more of a priority," Nir Gartzman, theDOCK's managing partner, told EcoWatch. "80 percent of the startups in our portfolio (for theDOCK's Navigator II fund) will have a primary or secondary contribution to environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria."</p><p>In a company presentation, theDOCK called contribution to the ESG agenda a "hot discussion topic" for traditional players in the space and their boards, many of whom are looking to adopt new technologies with a positive impact on the planet. The focus is on reducing carbon emissions and protecting the environment, the presentation outlines. As such, theDOCK also explicitly screens candidate investments by ESG criteria as well.</p><p>Within the maritime space, environmental innovations could include measures like increased fuel and energy efficiency, better monitoring of potential pollution sources, improved waste and air emissions management and processing of marine debris/trash into reusable materials, theDOCK's presentation noted.</p>theDOCK team includes (left to right) Michal Hendel-Sufa, Head of Alliances, Noa Schuman, CMO, Nir Gartzman, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, and Hannan Carmeli, Co-Founder & Managing Partner. Dudu Koren
<p>theDOCK's own portfolio includes companies like Orca AI, which uses an intelligent collision avoidance system to reduce the probability of oil or fuel spills, AiDock, which eliminates the use of paper by automating the customs clearance process, and DockTech, which uses depth "crowdsourcing" data to map riverbeds in real-time and optimize cargo loading, thereby reducing trips and fuel usage while also avoiding groundings.</p><p>"Oceans are a big opportunity primarily because they are just that – big!" theDOCK's Chief Marketing Officer Noa Schuman summarized. "As such, the magnitude of their criticality to the global ecosystem, the magnitude of pollution risk and the steps needed to overcome those challenges – are all huge."</p><p>There is hope that this wave of interest and investment in environmentally-positive maritime technologies will accelerate the blue economy and ESG investing even further, in Israel and beyond.</p>- 14 Countries Commit to Ocean Sustainability Initiative - EcoWatch ›
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