Methane - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

1)   Methane is :

a. Denoted by the formula CH4
b. A primary component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas
c. Also called marsh gas
d. Only a and b
e. All the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All the above

Explanation:
A decade long rise of the potent greenhouse gas methane threatens to make the fight against global warming even harder.

A consortium of 81 scientists have found that methane rose gradually from 2000-2006. Then, the CH4 concentration rose 10 fold in the following decade.The large increase was sharp in 2014 and 2015, keeping global warming below 3.6 degree F is now a challenging target.

With 1 degree celsius of warming above pre-industrial era levels so far, the world has seen a rise in extreme weather including droughts, superstorms, heat waves and coastal flooding boosted by rising seas.

On current trends, average global temperatures are on the track by more than 3 degrees F by 2100 even if national carbon cutting pledges annexed to the Paris Agreement are honoured.

Without these pledges, the increase would be more higher.

To date, efforts to keep the planet from overheating have focused mostly on the main greenhouse has CO2, a by-product of burning fossil fuels that account for at least 70 percent of warming.


Even as CO2 started to plateau, CH4 is responsible for 20 percent of the increase in global temperature and has started soaring.

Pace of recent emissions aligns with IPCC recommendations.

Methane

  • Also known as CH4.
  • 28 times for efficient at trapping the sun’s heat.
  • Earth naturally absorbs CH4.
  • Like CO2, CH4 is naturally released as well.
2)   Scientists combined 3D printed polymers with methane eating bacterial to produce which type of reactor?

a. More energy efficient
b. Can produce methanol from the GHG
c. Both a and b
d. Neither a nor b
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
Scientists have combined 3D printed polymers with methane eating bacteria to create the first reactor that can produce methanol from the green house gas, advancement leading to efficient energy production.

  • Researchers removed enzymes from methanotrophs, bacteria that consume methane and mix then with polymers printed or molded into innovative reactors.
  • The enzymes retain close to 100 percent activity in the polymer
  • Large volume of methane leaks or flares during the operations because the gas is difficult to store and transport compared to more valuable liquid fuels
3)   Methane emissions from earth’s surface have been measured by an orbiting spacecraft for the first time. What is the chemical formula of methane?

a. CH2
b. CH3
c. CH4
d. CH5
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: CH4

Explanation:
Methane emissions from a specific leaking facility on Earth’s surface have been measured by an instrument on board an orbiting spacecraft for the first time.

  • The observation has been done by the Hyperion spectrometer on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1).
  • This is an important breakthrough in our ability to eventually measure and monitor emissions of this potent greenhouse gas from space.
  • Part of NASA’s New Millennium Program, EO-1 is an advanced land-imaging mission designed to demonstrate new instruments and spacecraft systems.
  • Launched in 2000, EO-1 has validated technologies for the Operational Land Imager used on the Landsat-8 satellite mission and future imaging spectrometer missions, and supported disaster-response applications.
  • The mission is managed by NASA Goddard.

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