Balancing the methane budget

Levels in the atmosphere of the greenhouse gas methane released accidentally by the oil and gas industry might be up to 60% higher than climate scientists had budgeted for. A new method combining long term atmospheric measurements of methane levels with a way of fingerprinting where the gas has come from has enabled scientists at the University of Colorado to make more accurate predictions of the status quo. Grant Allen is an atmospheric scientist at the University of Manchester and wrote a commentary on the new study for the journal Nature, where it's been published this week. Chris Smith wanted to know about the findings and the implications.