NOAA's Patricia Lang prepares to measure methane levels inside a flask that is part of NOAA's global air sampling network

NOAA’s Patricia Lang prepares to measure methane levels inside a flask that is part of NOAA’s global air sampling network. Such measurements were critical in helping an international team of scientists understand the oxidizing or cleansin g power of the global atmosphere and its sensitivity to natural and human-induce d perturbations. Methane levels were a key point of comparison in the new study.

Photo Location: Hawaii, Mauna Loa
Photo Date: 2010