Arctic methane plumes could accelerate global warming
DEC 15, 2011
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.025766
Daily Mail : At least 100 plumes of methane bubbles, some more than 1 km in diameter, have been discovered to be rising to the surface of the sea over the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, a shallow, methane-rich area that stretches some 1500 km into the Arctic Ocean. As Earth warms and sea levels rise, the permafrost beneath the shelf melts, releasing the powerful greenhouse gas. In deep water, methane release is not a problem because the gas oxidizes into carbon dioxide before it reaches the surface. But because the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is so shallow, the methane doesn’t have time to oxidize, which means more of it escapes into the atmosphere. Scientists are concerned that such continuous and powerful release of methane could have a huge effect on climate change.
© 2011 American Institute of Physics
