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CH4, a colorless, odorless, flammable, greenhouse gas. It is the
simplest of all hydrocarbons with a formula of CH4. Methane is
released naturally into the air from anaerobic environments such as marshes,
swamps, and rice fields, and from symbiotic microbes in the guts of ruminant
animals (such as cattle, sheep, and camels), and sewage sludge. Methane is
released from methane producing bacteria (methanogens) that live in these
anaerobic places. Methanogens in termite guts are the source of methane released
by termites. The discovery that termites may be a significant source of
atmospheric methane is attributed to work by Patrick Zimmerman and his research
group members at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder
Colorado (see reference immediately below and papers in the scientific
literature).
[Solar Energy; v52n6; 467-477; 1994.] [Air, The Nature of
Atmosphere and the Climate; Michael Allaby; pages 39,40; 1992; Facts on File;
New York] [Dictionary of Science; R.K. Barnhart; page 398; 1986; Houghton
Mifflin Company; Boston.]
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