Destabilizing Arctic Methane Stores Could Intensify Climate Change
Thursday, March 4, 2010 - 18:49
in Earth & Climate
An international research team writing in Science says that a section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas. The results show that the permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, long thought to be an impermeable barrier sealing in methane, is perforated and is leaking large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Release of even a fraction of the methane stored in the shelf could trigger abrupt climate warming. read more