Shock as retreat of Arctic sea ice releases deadly greenhouse gas

Shock as retreat of Arctic sea ice releases deadly greenhouse gas



Russian research team astonished after finding 'fountains' of methane bubbling to surface



Steve Connor


Tuesday 13 December 2011









Suggested Topics

• Russia
• Arctic Circle
• Siberia

Dramatic and unprecedented plumes of methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide – have been seen bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive survey of the region.
The scale and volume of the methane release has astonished the head of the Russian research team who has been surveying the seabed of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf off northern Russia for nearly 20 years.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Igor Semiletov, of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that he has never before witnessed the scale and force of the methane being released from beneath the Arctic seabed.
"Earlier we found torch-like structures like this but they were only tens of metres in diameter. This is the first time that we've found continuous, powerful and impressive seeping structures, more than 1,000 metres in diameter. It's amazing," Dr Semiletov said. "I was most impressed by the sheer scale and high density of the plumes. Over a relatively small area we found more than 100, but over a wider area there should be thousands of them."
Scientists estimate that there are hundreds of millions of tonnes of methane gas locked away beneath the Arctic permafrost, which extends from the mainland into the seabed of the relatively shallow sea of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. One of the greatest fears is that with the disappearance of the Arctic sea-ice in summer, and rapidly rising temperatures across the entire region, which are already melting the Siberian permafrost, the trapped methane could be suddenly released into the atmosphere leading to rapid and severe climate change.
Dr Semiletov's team published a study in 2010 estimating that the methane emissions from this region were about eight million tonnes a year, but the latest expedition suggests this is a significant underestimate of the phenomenon.
In late summer, the Russian research vessel Academician Lavrentiev conducted an extensive survey of about 10,000 square miles of sea off the East Siberian coast. Scientists deployed four highly sensitive instruments, both seismic and acoustic, to monitor the "fountains" or plumes of methane bubbles rising to the sea surface from beneath the seabed.
"In a very small area, less than 10,000 square miles, we have counted more than 100 fountains, or torch-like structures, bubbling through the water column and injected directly into the atmosphere from the seabed," Dr Semiletov said. "We carried out checks at about 115 stationary points and discovered methane fields of a fantastic scale – I think on a scale not seen before. Some plumes were a kilometre or more wide and the emissions went directly into the atmosphere – the concentration was a hundred times higher than normal."
Dr Semiletov released his findings for the first time last week at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco

Shock as retreat of Arctic sea ice releases deadly greenhouse gas - Climate Change - Environment - The Independent

hmm maybe they will be able to harvest some of this.

What about all the good molecules being let free from the ice melting? I wonder if it counter acts this some.

The earth will self correct, just like it's done in the past. Let's hope it's not to the point of extinction.

isn't there methane "fountains" found all over the world though too? Even in warm climates.

There are methane fountains, they're just not nearly as big or numerous as these new ones. The Earth has corrected itself from warming before, but it took millions of years of back and forth weather extremes to do it. Almost everything except a few single celled organisms went extinct from the last really bad one. The more milder ones just killed off the oceans and the cold weather wildlife. The problem is, humans can survive weather extremes, but our crops and water supplies cannot tolerate even mild changes in the atmosphere.

Venus is a hell hole because of the greenhouse gas effect, the Earth actually holds more potential for runaway heating than Venus because of our vast oceans. We're playing with fire here, and we need only look at our nearest neighbor to see how powerful excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can be. I'd rather go through a tough economical switch to different fuel, then go through a famine.

did you see that Canada backed out of the Kyoto treaty? This is an out that a lot of nations will probably take. The costs involved is crazy.

there's a lot we can fix, but there's also a lot we can't fix.

I saw a story about the oil spill in the gulf that has slowed down the ocean flow through there. now that's bad!

thats for sure ,,, and then there is HAARP.


HAARP is a gigantic aray of antennas that broadcast a electromagetical signal of verry high density into one small area of the magetosphere , it can do a lot of things to the atmosphere , actualy cause a wave of deferentiating pressure systems so to speak,,,,, that is said to cause changes in the weather.

I read a little on the issue,,, it sounds dangerous to me.

Then there is the issue of chemtrails.

Who reraly knows what they are doing with those


All this stuff must have some efect our ecosystem.

I dont think we will ever stop the glaciers from melting , It doesnt seem possible to me.

They have been melting for centuries .

Who is to say we arent just getting back to what is supposed to be normal?

I realy dont think scientist even know .

At one time the area where our home is ,,,was under a glacier.


If it returns any time soon I am in real trouble!!