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This year, NASA released a new
visualization modeling the sources and

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transport of methane across our globe.

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With this new visualization, we can see
how methane sources varied by location

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and season.

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In South America, the Amazon River Basin
and it's adjacent wetlands flood

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seasonally. This creates an
oxygen-deprived environment that is a

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significant source of methane.

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In the last 200 years, methane
concentrations have more than doubled

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mainly due to human activities.

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Europe is the only region to show a decrease in

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methane emissions over the last 20 years.

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In India and Southeast Asia, rice
cultivation and livestock are two of the

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driving sources of methane.

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In China, economic expansion is driving a high

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demand for fossil fuels, resulting in an
increase in methane emissions.

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This is a

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stark difference to the Arctic, where
natural sources, such as natural wetlands

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and potentially thawing permafrost,
account for more than 70 percent of the

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region's methane emissions.

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Taking a step back, we can see that
methane has vastly different sources

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around the globe.  By getting a better
sense of the story of methane, scientists

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and policymakers can better understand
the sources of methane emissions and

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and work to reduce this greenhouse gas.