Posted on 12/22/2008 4:02:12 PM PST by TaraP
The East Siberian Sea is bubbling with methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, being released from underwater reserves, according to a recent expedition.
This could be a sign that global warming is thawing underwater permafrost, which is releasing methane that has been locked away for many thousands of years. If these methane emissions from the Arctic speed up, it could cause "really serious climate consequences," said expedition member Igor Semiletov of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
According to our data, more than 50 percent of the Arctic Siberian shelf is serving as a source of methane to the atmosphere," Semiletov said.
This vast shelf is about 750,000 square miles (2 million square kilometers)—about the same size as Greenland or Mexico—and about 80 percent of it is covered with permafrost, Semiletov said.
He presented the findings from his group at an American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco this week.
Not-So-Permanent Permafrost
Permafrost is basically dirt that's been permanently frozen for hundreds or thousands of years, much of it since the last ice age.
Anyone got a match?
Dinosaur farts?
Sure must be a whole lot of cows down there!
New Nat. Geo program. When the Earth Farts.......
Methane hidden away for thousands of years? Why would they pick that number if they weren’t slanting for global warming.
It appears that this may be the second (known) time that these “scientists” just may confuse cause and effect. We should remember that the Goracle’s movie equating the rise of CO2 with temperature failed to mention that the CO2 rose AFTER the temperature rose - with a lag time of around 800 years.
Basically, it's all wild speculation with little, if any, foundation in logic or fact.
If I could type fast, I'd write out the whole report. It would kick this "New Science Finding" to the curb. PEOPLE ARE NOT THAT STUPID...it's called an "Agenda".
On the other hand, although methane clathrates tend to be dispersed, if we ever find a good way to harvest them, we would find ourselves with a boatload of additional energy reserves,
I agree. Put a match to it. It’s cold as hell out here. We have to do something to warm the globe.
</sarcasm>
related info:
USGS estimates ANS holds 85.4 tcf of gas hydrates
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2113362/posts
We just need to hurry up and produce that methane for our use.
Right now it looks like much of the upper midwest may turn into perma frost.
I wonder if that is evididence of continued production of hydrocarbons by geologic processes unrelated to dinosaurs
or ancient plants... how is oil made? anaerobic compression
of carbon containing compounds under conditions of high heat. If true, then the oil cycle is renewable, and there is no such thing as running out.
These Global Warming scientists remind me a lot of a weatherman who looks outside and say’s its going to snow.
Might this and maybe that doesnt cut it.
Half the time they are guessing and the other half they are making up statistics to prove their guess.
sea cows?
National Geographic’s “In The Womb” series last night repeatedly alternated between “science” and the commentator’s guesses or hints that gayness might be inaitiated in the womb because there are no other reasons.
Can you say ‘promoting an agenda’? I knew you could neighbors.
Perhaps the Morlocks are now driving SUVs?
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