Over 112 days, the leak poured 100,000 tons of methane—a greenhouse gas more harmful than carbon dioxide—into the air, according to the first study of the entire leak by a team of researchers from UC-Irvine, UC-Davis, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, and elsewhere.

The study found the leak's pollution to be equivalent to annual emissions from half a million cars. At its highest level, methane from the site was double the methane emissions from the entire Los Angeles basin. In total, the amount released equaled one quarter of all methane pollution from every other source in the LA basin for the entire year.

In short, this leak was absolutely devastating. And it wasn't an isolated incident.

UC-Irvine released another report yesterday that surveyed the "ever-present dome of methane that hovers over the region" of Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties. That research underscores how "ubiquitous" small leaks contribute to methane pollution throughout the area. A researcher from Boston University has measured similar small leaks throughout Boston and Washington, DC.