This Ethiopian volcano has just accumulated a stunning amount of methane

There is something strange that happens under the Ethiopia National Park. Vulcanic and seismic activity rose under a volcano named Mount Fentale, but the gas that began to throw away from the ground was not what you would expect from the upcoming eruption.

The Canadian Ghgsat greenhouse gas monitoring company said in early February that the amount of methane emitted by Fentale peak is “substantiallyS “When Ghgsat started measuring the emissions on January 31, they found that the volcano discarded 58 meta methane every hour. Ghgsat began monitoring the situation after receiving advice from the program of the European Space Agency Copernicus, which manages a number of observation satellites that inhabit orbit on Earth.

John Stix, a professor of geology at McGill University, told Scientist that the amount of methane is “unusual” for volcanoes that usually discard other gases, such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide.

While carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change, methane is second, representing about 11% of global emissions. According to EPAMethane is actually the power of the two gas, with a molecule capable of capturing 28 times more heat than a carbon dioxide molecule.

The fact that methane is so plentiful compared to other gases suggests that everything that happens is not due to the fact that the magma goes out to the surface, Stix said. More recently, the movement of the magma deep underground may have opened a gas field.

The good news is that it looks whatever happens, it slows down. Ghgsat Jason McKever told the new scientist that emissions have been declining since February 9th.

More than two centuries have passed since the last peak fentale eruptionS In 1820, 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) opened in the volcano, leading to a flow of lava. Previously, the last recorded eruption was back in the 13th century. This destroyed the Abyssinian city and church south of the mountain.

There were signs of Mount Fentale Mountain before the methane was discovered. On his website, Smithsonian’s Global volcanism The aforementioned satellite radar pointed to the penetration of magma into the region in September.

The satellites discovered “thermal anomalies” in the area of ​​January 13 and 14, which increased by January 21. The cause of the anomalies remains unknown.

Mount Fentale is located in Avash National Park, which is also home to Mount Dofan, a 1480 -feet high volcano (450 meters). In early January, the Sali Smoke began to come out of openings in the mountain, leading to hundreds of people leaving your homes as a precaution. During the weeks, there were also increasing seismic events leading to volcanic activity, which has not led to a complete eruption so far.

To say, it’s been a long time since Dofan erupted would be an underestimation. According to the World Vulcity Program, there is no indication of eruption during the Holocene, the current geological era, which extends back 11 700 years. This does not mean that it is due to an eruption. Vulcanic activity is difficult to predict, even for experts, so don’t worry too much about it. There are enough toxic things that are thrown away by certain people to keep you concerned these days.