{"id":672542,"date":"2026-05-15T12:31:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T12:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/672542\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T12:31:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T12:31:09","slug":"scientists-stunned-as-volcano-removes-methane-from-the-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/672542\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Stunned As Volcano Removes Methane From the Air"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hunga<\/a>The Hunga Tonga\u2013Hunga Ha\u2019apai volcanic eruption on January 15, 2022. Image taken from a video of the eruption. Credit: Tonga Geological Services<\/p>\n

A giant volcano may have accidentally uncovered a powerful new way to destroy methane in Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

In January 2022, the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga\u2013Hunga Ha\u2019apai in the South Pacific unleashed one of the most powerful eruptions ever recorded in modern times. But scientists have now discovered that the eruption did something completely unexpected: it also helped remove some of the methane pollution released into the atmosphere. Researchers say the surprising effect could eventually provide clues for slowing global warming.<\/p>\n

After analyzing satellite data from the enormous volcanic plume, scientists detected unusually large amounts of formaldehyde in the atmosphere. That finding was important because formaldehyde forms briefly when methane breaks down, making it a key sign that methane destruction was taking place high above Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we analyzed the satellite images, we were surprised to see a cloud with a record-high concentration of formaldehyde. We were able to track the cloud for 10 days, all the way to South America. Because formaldehyde only exists for a few hours, this showed that the cloud must have been destroying methane continuously for more than a week,\u201d explains Dr. Maarten van Herpen from Acacia Impact Innovation BV, first author of the study, which has just been published in Nature Communications.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\"VIIRS<\/a>Satellite image using the VIIRS satellite on 16 January 2022, 13:30 UTC, showing in blue the cloud of formaldehyde measured by TROPOMI. To the left is the Australian coast of Queensland. Credit: van Herpen et al. (2026)Volcano Ash and Sunlight Triggered Methane Breakdown<\/p>\n

Researchers believe the eruption activated a chemical process that scientists only recently identified in another part of the world.<\/p>\n

In earlier work published in 2023, researchers found that dust blowing from the Sahara Desert across the Atlantic Ocean can combine with salt from sea spray. Together, they form tiny particles known as iron salt aerosols. When sunlight hits these particles, chlorine atoms are produced. Those chlorine atoms react with methane and help break it down in the atmosphere. The discovery changed scientists\u2019 understanding of chemistry in the lower atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is new\u2014and completely surprising\u2014is that the same mechanism appears to occur in a volcanic plume high up in the stratosphere, where the physical conditions are entirely different,\u201d says Professor Matthew Johnson from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, one of the researchers behind both discoveries.<\/p>\n

The Tonga eruption blasted huge amounts of salty seawater into the stratosphere along with volcanic ash. Scientists believe sunlight reacting with this mixture generated highly reactive chlorine, which then helped destroy methane released during the eruption. The high formaldehyde levels seen in satellite observations provided evidence that methane was actively breaking down.<\/p>\n

Researchers estimate the eruption released around 300 gigagrams (Gg) of methane, roughly equal to the yearly methane emissions from more than two million cows. At the same time, the volcanic plume removed approximately 900 megagrams (Mg) of methane per day, an amount comparable to the daily methane emissions from two million cows.<\/p>\n

Why Methane Matters for Climate Change<\/p>\n

Methane currently accounts for roughly one-third of global warming. Over a 20-year period, methane traps about 80 times more heat than CO2. However, methane does not remain in the atmosphere nearly as long as carbon dioxide. It usually breaks down within about 10 years.<\/p>\n

Because methane disappears relatively quickly, cutting methane pollution now could slow warming within the next decade. Some scientists describe methane reduction as an \u201cemergency brake\u201d on climate change\u2014one that could help lower the risk of climate tipping points in the coming years. Researchers emphasize, however, that reducing CO2 emissions remains essential for long-term climate stability.<\/p>\n

Discovery Could Help Future Climate Technologies<\/p>\n

The scientists behind the study say their findings may support efforts to develop technologies that speed up methane removal from the atmosphere, similar to the natural process triggered by the volcano. Several possible approaches are already being explored, but one major obstacle has been proving how much methane is actually removed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you prove that methane has been removed from the atmosphere? How do you know your method works? It\u2019s very difficult. But here we address that problem by showing that methane breakdown can in fact be observed using satellites,\u201d says Dr. Jos de Laat from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, senior author of the study.<\/p>\n

The research relied on the TROPOMI instrument aboard the European Space Agency\u2019s Sentinel-5P satellite, which tracks greenhouse gases and air pollution around the world every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cRetrieving formaldehyde from TROPOMI in a stratospheric volcanic plume is far outside the instrument\u2019s standard operating conditions \u2014 we had to carefully correct the satellite\u2019s sensitivity for the unusual altitude of the signal and account for interference from the high sulfur dioxide concentrations. Getting these corrections right was essential to confirm that what we were seeing was real,\u201d said Dr. Isabelle De Smedt, Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy.<\/p>\n

The researchers say the discovery could inspire future engineering solutions designed to reduce methane pollution safely and effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an obvious idea for industry to try to replicate this natural phenomenon \u00ad\u2014 but only if it can be proven to be safe and effective. Our satellite method could offer a way to help figure out how humans might slow global warming,\u201d concludes Matthew Johnson.<\/p>\n

Scientists Say Methane Estimates May Need Updating<\/p>\n

Researchers say the findings may require scientists to revise the global methane budget, which estimates how much methane enters and leaves Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now know that atmospheric dust\u2014for example from a volcanic eruption\u2014impacts the methane budget, meaning the budget of how much methane is added to the atmosphere and how much is removed. Because dust has not previously been taken into account, it is important that we correct the data on which these estimates are based,\u201d says Matthew Johnson.<\/p>\n

Reference: \u201cSatellite quantification of enhanced methane oxidation applied to the stratospheric plume following Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha\u2019apai eruption\u201d by Maarten M.J.W. van Herpen, Isabelle De Smedt, Daphne Meidan, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Matthew S. Johnson, Thomas R\u00f6ckmann and Jos de Laat, 7 May 2026, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038\/s41467-026-72191-4<\/a><\/p>\n

The research team included Maarten van Herpen (Acacia Impact Innovation BV, Netherlands); Isabelle De Smedt (Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Belgium); Daphne Meidan and Alfonso Saiz-Lopez (CSIC, Spain); Matthew Johnson (University of Copenhagen, Denmark); Thomas R\u00f6ckmann (Utrecht University, Netherlands); and Jos de Laat (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, Netherlands).<\/p>\n

The research was supported by Spark Climate Solutions.<\/p>\n

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Follow us on Google<\/a> and Google News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Hunga Tonga\u2013Hunga Ha\u2019apai volcanic eruption on January 15, 2022. Image taken from a video of the eruption.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[140378,53247,64,63,22115,128,85024,120571],"class_list":["post-672542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-atmospheric-chemistry","tag-atmospheric-science","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-methane","tag-science","tag-university-of-copenhagen","tag-volcano"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}