InfraVis contributing to Research Paper

We are proud and happy to announce that InfraVis has contributed to a research paper published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment (Coastal methane emissions triggered by ship passages).

The article reveals that ships may be a hidden driver of methane emissions in estuaries and coastal waters. InfraVis user Ida-Maja Hassellöv (Chalmers) and her team found that ship movement in Neva Bay can trigger methane releases 10–1000 times higher than typical global coastal levels — making them comparable to known methane “hotspots.” Pressure changes from ships (30–60 mbar) appear to stimulate methane release from sediments, much like tidal forces do.

Crucially, these ship-induced emissions add about 22% more CO₂ equivalents beyond combustion exhaust alone.

The study highlights an overlooked climate impact of maritime traffic and urges that shipping lanes be included in global methane emission inventories.

InfraVis Application Experts Tristan Bridge, Joakim Bohlin and Jonas Ahlstedt have helped with visualizations.