Posted on 09/15/2007 4:30:55 PM PDT by blam
Source: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Date: September 15, 2007
Lakes Boiling With Methane Discovered In Alaska
Science Daily — Last month, UAF researcher Katey Walter brought a National Public Radio crew to Alaska’s North Slope, hoping to show them examples of what happens when methane is released when permafrost thaws beneath lakes.
When they reached their destination, Walter and the crew found even more than they bargained for: a lake violently boiling with escaping methane.
“It was cold, wet and windy. We were dropped off in the middle of nowhere by a helicopter and paddled out to a huge methane plume in the middle of the lake with no idea what to expect, how strong the bubbling plume would be, whether or not our raft would stay afloat, how dangerous it would be to breath the gas,” said Walter, an assistant professor in UAF’s Institute of Northern Engineering and International Arctic Research Center. “The violent streams of bubbles made the lake appear as if it were boiling, but the water was pretty cold."
Walter studies methane emissions from arctic lakes, especially the connection between thawing permafrost and climate change. As permafrost around a lake’s edges thaws, the organic material in it--dead plants and animals--can enter the lake bottom, where bacteria convert it to methane, which bubbles into the atmosphere, sometimes in a spectacular fashion. Methane is much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Walter said this summer’s fieldwork indicates that methane hotspots, such as the one she and the crew experienced, can come from various sources, not just thawing permafrost. Her next goal is to identify and quantify the sources of the methane hotspots around Alaska.
“It is unlikely that this methane plume was related to permafrost thaw,” said Walter, adding that the methane boiling out of the lake was more likely related to natural gas seepage. “Should large quantities of methane be released from methane hydrates, for instance, in association with permafrost thaw, then we could have large sudden increases in atmospheric methane with potentially large affects on global temperatures.”
Walter’s project is one of many at UAF happening as part of the International Polar Year, an international event that will focus research efforts and public attention on the Earth’s polar regions.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Alaska Fairbanks.
ping...
Need a light?
I know cameras are in short supply and extremely expensive these days, but you would think that for something as important as methane and global warming they would have sacrificed the dollars for one so we could see some pictures of the “lake boiling with methane”.
If they find that rare "infestivitous morungus twin tailed pink minnow"
they'll be sure to get a 1-trillion dollar grant to stop the earths rotation long enough to plug the methane leak.
I only know of two natural gases..natural gas one pays for in the home (if equiped) and you don’t wanna know about the other......lol
hehehe !!
Back to the batub joke. LOL
Be warned. Do NOT smoke while in the bath tub. This warning also applies to sessions upon the reading throne.
Uh-uh. Are you speaking from experience?
I sort of wished they did and then we wouldn't have read this stupid article to begin with... :)
That's right! I forgot all about that. I read a fiction book that used this principle and explained how gas can actually sink big boats in a perfectly calm sea. I sort of forgot how...
Ya know, iffen we only, like, could make a large, like, piece of plastic over these lakes and, like, man, you know, capture all that methane we, could, like, you know, burn it up there and heat up Alaska and solve everybody’s problems with everything since all that Co2 would be, like man, gone.
You know.
“Last month, UAF researcher Katey Walter brought a National Public Radio crew to Alaska’s North Slope”
They don’t need masks, they’re used to inhaling and exhaling pure methane.
Er, uhm, ah ... Yes.
Bean counter alert......
This has been today's useless fact.
Always remember that as hot as it’s gotten over the last 14,000 years we still reserve about 1/4 of the total landmass of the Earth for the care and feeding of reindeer and musk ox.
Heh, the old Hillbilly Hot Tub!
It’s a darn shame they didn’t light a match when they got there.
There's better uses for a wet t-shirt! ;-)
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