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The Ocean Floor Is Spewing Methane Due to Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells
Out on the deck of a research boat, Tara Yacovitch looked out to the water.
In the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, the seascape is peppered with lights.
- Hannah Seo
- Truthout
And every light is part of an offshore oil or gas platform.
Offshore platforms can vary greatly in size — some are as big as multi-storied buildings, while others resemble small but very tall rooms.
The boat carrying Yacovitch and her team also housed a variety of science equipment: methane isotope readers, spectrometers, and other tools to measure methane levels in the…
Yacovitch, an instrument scientist at Aerodyne Research, is…