Shipping traffic can trigger methane emissions from seafloor, study finds

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: A new study published in Communications Earth & Environment finds that ships moving through shallow waters can trigger significant methane emissions from the seafloor — independent of the ships’ fuel type
• Researchers observed methane releases up to 20 times higher in shipping lanes compared to undisturbed seabed, caused by ship-induced pressure changes and turbulent mixing that dislodge methane trapped in sediments

🔭 The context: The findings emerged serendipitously during unrelated research in the Baltic Sea’s Neva Bay, a busy shipping route where scientists unexpectedly detected large methane plumes
• Methane is known to accumulate in shallow marine sediments, but human-induced disturbances such as dredging and trawling have been the primary focus of prior studies
• This is the first research to systematically link normal shipping traffic to elevated methane release

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Maritime transport already accounts for roughly 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions through direct fuel combustion
• This discovery suggests an overlooked, additional source of methane emissions tied to shipping activity — particularly in shallow coastal areas where many ports and shipping lanes are located
• If replicated globally, these emissions could undermine decarbonisation gains in the sector and complicate greenhouse gas inventories

⏭️ What's next: Researchers are calling for further studies to quantify the global scale of ship-induced methane emissions and to assess their impact on climate targets
• Policymakers and port authorities may need to consider mitigation strategies, such as altered routing or seabed management, especially as maritime traffic continues to grow
• The findings could inform revisions of shipping-related emissions accounting in future climate agreements

💬 One quote: “This is a hitherto unknown impact of shipping that could be significant on a global scale, especially given the concentration of ports in shallow waters,”  Johan Mellqvist, co-author and professor at Chalmers University of Technology 

📈 One stat: Methane emissions in the observed shipping lane were recorded at 20 times higher than in adjacent undisturbed seabed areas

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