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According to the researchers, ancient reserves of methane, a greenhouse gas trapped in ice for millions of years in the Arctic Ocean, are released into the atmosphere.
Deposits of methane and other gases, called hydrates, were formerly dubbed the “sleeping giants of the carbon cycle”.
An international research team on a Russian ship has found bubbles on the surface of the powerful gas, which has a heating effect 80 times greater than carbon dioxide in 20 years.
According to the scientists behind the preliminary results, which have yet to be reviewed by other scientists and published, this new source of greenhouse gas emissions could lead to an uncontrolled sequence of events known as the feedback loop.
If further analysis confirms that methane is now seeping into the atmosphere, it could further accelerate the pace of climate change.
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A research team on a boat in the ocean has found bubbles of the powerful gas, which has a heating effect 80 times greater than carbon dioxide in 20 years, which are released (pictured)
In a Facebook post last week, the International Siberian Study Shelf Expedition states, “This may be the first comprehensive observation of the active release of methane hydrates on the Siberian-Arctic slope system.”
“ We believe these emissions at this stage have not yet had a major impact on global atmospheric methane and climate, however these huge levels of carbon / GHG [greenhouse gas] the capacitors are clearly activated. ‘
Researchers found the methane leak in a remote corner of the Arctic Ocean near Russia while aboard the R / V Akademik Keldysh research vessel.
It was discovered over an area of 1,500 square km (580 square miles) of the Laptev Sea more than 600 km (370 miles) from the shore.
Methane concentrations at depths of approximately 300 meters (1,000 feet) have reached up to 1,600 nanomoles per liter, 400 times higher than in a balanced system.
Methane levels were up to eight times higher than expected at the surface and when this is combined with visual bubbles, the researchers believe the gas is released into the atmosphere.
Örjan Gustafsson, of Stockholm University, told the Guardian he believes methane is venting itself into the air from the water.
“Right now, it is unlikely that there will be a major impact on global warming, but the point is that this process has been activated,” he said.
“This methane hydrate system on the slopes of Eastern Siberia has been disrupted and the process will be ongoing.”
Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist and director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, tweeted his skepticism about the findings. He said, “This story is … unconvincing”
However, marine methane leaking into the atmosphere is a hotly debated topic among climate experts.
At present, while evidence emerges of methane being spewed into the water, there is no hard evidence that it subsequently entered the atmosphere.
Gavin Schmidt, climatologist and director of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, tweeted his skepticism about the latest findings.
He said: ‘This story is … unconvincing.
“First of all it’s just two scientists (no publication), one of whom has already made similar (unsupported) claims and ignores the context in which permafrost and methane have degraded in this region since it was first flooded. Holocene. “
And while the team of researchers “believe they are the first to confirm observationally that the release of methane is already underway,” according to The Guardian report, other scientists have dispelled those claims.
Martin Siegert, co-director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London, told the Times that similar emissions have been found previously.
“But if the measurements show an increase, then we should be worried,” he adds.
‘I suspect the work will cause more analysis of the problem and is probably overdue. ‘
The Arctic is more affected by global warming than anywhere else on the planet.
A lasting heatwave throughout 2020 saw a new highest temperature ever recorded for the Arctic, and the region was over 5C warmer, on average, for the first half of this year.
Researchers found the methane leak in a remote corner of the Arctic Ocean near Siberia while aboard the R / V Akademik Keldysh research vessel. It was discovered over an area of 1,500 square km of the Laptev Sea and more than 600 km from the shore and concentrations reached up to 1,600 nanomoles per liter.
Scientists analyzing this anomalous weather concluded that it was almost certainly caused by humans.
A July study found that Siberia’s recent heatwave was made 600 times more likely due to human-induced climate change and would have been “ effectively impossible ” without anthropogenic emissions.
The extreme weather has seen a huge amount of wildfires across Siberia, releasing an average of 700 tons of carbon dioxide every minute through September.
A total of 244 megatonnes of CO2 emitted into the air by the fires in the Arctic Circle, which plague the northernmost region of the world between 1 January and 31 August.
While the Arctic has borne the brunt of warming, the entire Northern Hemisphere experienced its hottest summer on record this year.
From early June to late August, the average temperature north of the equator was 2.11 ° F (1.17 ° C) above the pre-industrial average.
This surpasses the previous warmer summers of 2016 and 2019, which were in first place.
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