No more wiggle room for oil companies on methane emissions: At least two dozen high-resolution satellites will be able to detect methane released from oil and gas operations at an asset level by the end of this year, Bloomberg reported on Friday. The satellites are equipped with sensors to detect the natural gas component from pipelines, unlit flares, storage tanks, and compressor stations anywhere in the world. The groundbreaking emission detection technology comes in response to demand for “facility-level information on emissions because it’s directly actionable,’’ a Harvard researcher tells Bloomberg.

And on the subject of methane: Environmental groups, including US-based Gas Leaks, are pushing US federal regulators to set policies that discourage companies from using the term “natural gas” in marketing campaigns, Bloomberg reported last week. The groups argue that the language implies that natural gas is a green fuel, and obscures the damaging effects of its extraction and burning. The groups suggest using alternatives including “methane gas” and “fossil gas.”

The food supply for marine life in the ocean’s twilight zone is at risk due to climate change warming the world’s waters, according to a study published in Nature last week. The twilight zone — located 200 to 1k meters below the ocean’s surface — is home to several specially adapted species like lantern sharks and kite fin sharks. The study suggests that warmer temperatures in the ocean could affect food supply and dissolved oxygen availability at that depth. “Our findings suggest that significant changes are already underway, and without strong emissions mitigation, widespread ecological disruption in the twilight zone is likely by 2100, with effects spanning millennia thereafter,” it said.

Possible scenarios: The study sees three possible futures for the twilight zone: a low emission scenario that allows a total of 625 bn tons of emissions from 2010 onward, a mid-range of 2.5k bn tons, and a high one of 5k bn tons. “If we get to the medium or high scenario both are very bad news for the twilight zone,” Katherine Crichton, the study’s lead author, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

  • Europe's Cryosat spacecraft found that the 200k existing glaciers have lost 2% of their weight in the span of 10 years, the equivalent to 2.7k bn tons of ice. (BBC)
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