tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16416968775728439222024-03-13T03:31:13.877-07:00Methane hydratesSam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-83767647369974444872014-05-11T21:02:00.001-07:002014-05-11T21:50:03.043-07:00Joint New Zealand - German 3D survey reveals massive seabed gas hydrate and methane system<b>A joint New Zealand-German research team has discovered a huge network of frozen methane and methane gas in sediments and in the ocean near New Zealand’s east coast.</b><br />
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The 16-strong team is using state-of-the-art 3D and 2D seismic and echosounder technology to map both forms of methane within the ocean and beneath the seafloor.<br />
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The area off the North Island’s east coast is known to have very large active landslides, up to 15km long and 100m thick, and the team set out to discover what is causing them to move.<br />
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What they discovered was direct evidence of widespread gas in the sediment and ocean, and indications of large areas of methane hydrate, ice-like frozen methane, below the seafloor. The team has identified 99 gas flares in a 50 km² area, venting from the seabed in columns up to 250 m high. This is believed to be the densest concentration of seafloor gas vents known in New Zealand. 3D seismic data show that landslides and faults allow the gas built up in the sediment to be released into the ocean.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4jXgvrMHyBg/U3BDbTPF86I/AAAAAAAANPQ/DjhpSFRNWX8/s1600/cube+graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4jXgvrMHyBg/U3BDbTPF86I/AAAAAAAANPQ/DjhpSFRNWX8/s1600/cube+graphic.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Sentinel SSm A', 'Sentinel SSm B', Arbutus, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">A 3D image of one section of New Zealand's <br />
East Coast seafloor mapped in 3D, complete <br />
with methane deposits and flares. [NIWA]</span></span></td></tr>
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This discovery reveals a hydrate and gas field very different from others known in New Zealand.<br />
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“Previously all gas venting sites have been in deeper water and associated with large earthquake faults”, says NIWA marine geologist and voyage leader Dr Joshu Mountjoy.<br />
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“What we have found is high density methane flares in very shallow water, as well as gas building up beneath a large landslide and being released along the landslide margins”.<br />
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In a recently submitted scientific paper the team proposed that these landslides might be the seafloor equivalent of glaciers, but with frozen methane instead of water ice, or alternatively that pressurized gas is causing them to progressively move downslope. The results from this expedition indicate that both of these are possibilities and provide data to carefully test these hypotheses.<br />
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The expedition took the opportunity to deploy the German research institute GEOMAR’s high resolution 3D seismic equipment known as the P-Cable from NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa<br />
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“This equipment is the best available for imaging fluid systems within the seafloor,” says co-leader Professor Sebastian Krastel of the University of Kiel. “The sediment, rocks and fluids we have mapped here are perfectly suited to this equipment, and the area mapped is one of the biggest ever mapped with the P-Cable seismic system.”<br />
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The work forms part of a larger project focused on understanding the dynamic interaction of gas hydrates and slow moving active landslides. Dubbed SCHLIP (Submarine Clathrate Hydrate Landslide Imaging Project), ongoing investigations in the project over the next decade will including drilling into the landslides themselves in 2016. This first part of the project, SCHLIP-3D, is a collaboration between NIWA, GNS Science and the University of Auckland from New Zealand, GEOMAR and the University of Kiel from Germany, Oregon State University from the USA, and the University of Malta.<br />
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“The initial findings are very important”, says Dr Mountjoy. “Methane is a very effective greenhouse gas and seabed methane release has the potential to dramatically alter the earth’s climate. As ocean temperatures change the methane hydrate system has the potential to become unstable.”<br />
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“In terms of natural hazards, the occurrence of very large slow landslides, rather than catastrophic ones, has major implications for the tsunami generating potential of landslides globally as slow landslides are unlikely to cause tsunami”.<br />
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“This type of slow moving submarine landslide is essentially unknown around the world, but it is very likely that they do occur widely and are an important process shaping continental margins”.<br />
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The team set off from Wellington on 14 April and finish the voyage there on 8 May. The work is funded from New Zealand by MBIE and Germany by DFG.<br />
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<b>Source</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.niwa.co.nz/news/joint-new-zealand-german-3d-survey-reveals-massive-seabed-gas-hydrate-and-methane-system">Joint New Zealand - German 3D survey reveals massive seabed gas hydrate and methane system</a><br />
News Release, May 12, 2014, NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research), New Zealand<br />
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<b>Related</b></div>
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Pockmarks up to 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, off the coast of New Zealand's South Island, in: <br />
<a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/06/sea-of-okhotsk.html">Sea of Okhotsk</a><br />
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Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-42937005374079893522013-12-10T02:16:00.000-08:002013-12-24T23:08:10.117-08:00Noctilucent clouds: further confirmation of large methane releasesBack in September 2013, extremely high methane readings were recorded over the heights of Antarctica, as illustrated by the image below.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lJk6kyrk3yE/Uqa7gyrSjUI/AAAAAAAAMFI/BBHs1EA1GGY/s1600/Antarctica-Sep-2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lJk6kyrk3yE/Uqa7gyrSjUI/AAAAAAAAMFI/BBHs1EA1GGY/s1600/Antarctica-Sep-2013.jpg" /></a></div>
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These high methane readings over Antarctica have not been discussed much among climate scientists, let alone in the media. Yet, large methane releases can contribute significantly to climate change, given methane's high potency as a greenhouse gas. Furthermore, the vast amounts of methane contained in the permafrost comes with the danger that, as global warming continues, such releases could increase in a non-linear way.<br />
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Noctilucent clouds could confirm that such emissions have indeed taken place from Antarctica. Methane will rise in the atmosphere, turning into water vapor as it rises up in the sky, and form ice crystals around meteor smoke at 83 kilometers altitude, showing up as noctilucent clouds.<br />
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<div align="center">
<table><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" width="100%"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <i>Noctilucent Clouds over the Southern Hemisphere from November 21, 2013, to December 17, 2013.</i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click on each image to view enlarged versions.</span></i></td></tr>
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It takes a while for methane to rise up to such altitudes, making it hard to pinpoint which methane releases are responsible for these noctilucent clouds. As methane rises, it tends to move closer to the equator, which is another reason to conclude that these noctilucent clouds are the result of large amounts of methane that have been released from the heights of Antarctica earlier in 2013.<br />
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As such high methane concentrations transform into water vapor and carbon dioxide, they may no longer register as methane on satellite measurements, yet they will continue to contribute to global warming. Therefore, large methane releases should be closely monitored, even if they do not appear to immediately translate into mean global methane level rises.<br />
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The question remains what caused such huge releases from the heights of Antarctica in the first place. The graph below may provide some of the answers. Look at the sharp temperature anomaly rise of 6 degrees Celsius over Antarctica in September 2013, preceded by a -3 anomaly. That's a difference of about 9 degrees Celsius. As temperature differences increase, there will be greater pressure changes, in line with compacting, expanding, tearing and other movements of the ice. Furthermore, more snowfall followed by more melting and vice versa will come with increased differences in weight. These two forces combined could be destabilizing the permafrost and the hydrates and free gas it contains.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6dQzxdZk9aA/Uqa6IccGHDI/AAAAAAAAME8/U5mDK-Ix9lU/s1600/70-90S+MonthlyAnomaly+Since2000.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6dQzxdZk9aA/Uqa6IccGHDI/AAAAAAAAME8/U5mDK-Ix9lU/s1600/70-90S+MonthlyAnomaly+Since2000.gif" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-left;"><i>Diagram showing area weighted Antarctic (70-90</i><sup style="font-style: italic;">o</sup><i>S) monthly surface air temperature anomalies (</i><a href="http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/temperature/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">HadCRUT4</a><i>) since January 2000, in relation to the WMO </i><a href="http://www.climate4you.com/NormalClimateNormalPeriod.htm">normal period</a><i> 1961-1990. The thin blue line shows the monthly temperature anomaly, while the thicker red line shows the running 37 month (c.3 yr) average. </i></span><i style="line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last month shown: September 2013. Last diagram update: 17 November 2013. From: <a href="http://www.climate4you.com/Polar%20temperatures.htm">http://www.climate4you.com/Polar%20temperatures.htm</a></span></i></span></td></tr>
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The temperature differences more striking when looking at individual days in September 2013. The NOAA images below show a difference of well over 20°C over a few days in September 2013.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aufR3RhgduY/Uqfgf7x41XI/AAAAAAAAMH4/Vb8-4HCy9HM/s1600/Antarctica-hydrates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aufR3RhgduY/Uqfgf7x41XI/AAAAAAAAMH4/Vb8-4HCy9HM/s640/Antarctica-hydrates.jpg" height="450" width="640" /></a></div>
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Temperature anomalies can be even more striking when looking at specific areas on specific days, such as on August 9th, 2013, as on the image below.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-48AiEUXbmgs/Uq1QATGFP8I/AAAAAAAAMJw/MiGZmgUt8PE/s1600/Antarctica-anomalies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-48AiEUXbmgs/Uq1QATGFP8I/AAAAAAAAMJw/MiGZmgUt8PE/s640/Antarctica-anomalies.png" height="490" width="640" /></a></div>
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As said on the image, such anomalies (well over 20°C, in this case) can be masked when averaged out over longer periods and over a larger area, such as an area covering latitudes from 60S to 90S for all longitudes.<br />
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Recent <a href="http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/poleslide.htm">research findings</a> show that, as weight is lost due to melting, West Antarctica becomes more vulnerable to pressure from East Antarctica, which is pushing West Antarctic bedrock westward at rates up to about twelve millimeters—about half an inch—per year. This finding further confirms crustal motions that could destabilize methane hydrates contained in the permafrost.<br />
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The occurence of large temperature differences spells bad news, as they can trigger methane releases, the more so as wide and rapid temperature changes on Antarctica look set to become even more frequent and intense with further global warming. <br />
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Finally, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohQzHz9gy6c">NASA video</a> below gives more background details on noctilucent clouds.<br />
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<b>References</b><br />
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- Is Global Warming breaking up the Integrity of the Permafrost?<br />
<a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/is-global-warming-breaking-up-the-integrity-of-the-permafrost.html">http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/is-global-warming-breaking-up-the-integrity-of-the-permafrost.html</a><br />
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- Noctilucent clouds indicate more methane in upper atmosphere<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/09/noctilucent-clouds-indicate-more-methane-in-upper-atmosphere.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/09/noctilucent-clouds-indicate-more-methane-in-upper-atmosphere.html</a><br />
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- Noctilucent Clouds Get an Early Start<br />
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<a href="http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/07jun_nlcs/">http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/07jun_nlcs</a></div>
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- Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite, exploring Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs), also called noctilucent clouds<br />
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<a href="http://aim.hamptonu.edu/">http://aim.hamptonu.edu</a></div>
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Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-13327161336031558462013-10-02T03:14:00.001-07:002013-10-02T03:14:10.972-07:00Earthquake M6.7 hits Sea of OkhotskAn earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale hit the Sea of Okhotsk on October 1, 2013.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[click on image to enlarge ]</td></tr>
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The submarine earthquake occurred at a depth of 359.3 miles (578.24 km). Earthquakes at such a depth can be felt at great distances from the epicenter.<br />
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The danger is that tremors will destabilize methane held in sediments underneath the Arctic Ocean. As above map shows, a fault line connects the Arctic Ocean with the Sea of Okhotsk through Siberia. As above map also shows, a lot of methane is already present over the Arctic on or close to this fault line.<br />
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The map below is added to better illustrate the location of the recent earthquake (large red dot at bottom center) and the fault lines.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YDEWGIyJ_6Y/Ukvv9vMH8iI/AAAAAAAALbE/902Kc3vCY_U/s1600/Sea-of-Okhotsk-Oct-1-2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YDEWGIyJ_6Y/Ukvv9vMH8iI/AAAAAAAALbE/902Kc3vCY_U/s640/Sea-of-Okhotsk-Oct-1-2013.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[ click on image to enlarge ]</td></tr>
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<b>Related posts</b><br />
<br />- Earthquake hits Laptev Sea (2013)<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/09/earthquake-hits-laptev-sea.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/09/earthquake-hits-laptev-sea.html</a><br />
<br />- Methane release caused by earthquakes (2013)<br /><a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/09/methane-release-caused-by-earthquakes.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/09/methane-release-caused-by-earthquakes.html</a><br /><br />- North Hole (2013)<br /><a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/09/north-hole.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/09/north-hole.html</a><br /><br />- Sea of Okhotsk (2013)<br /><a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/06/sea-of-okhotsk.html">Methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/06/sea-of-okhotsk.html</a><br /><br />- Seismic activity, by Malcolm Light and Sam Carana (2011)<br /><a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/seismic-activity.html">Arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/seismic-activity.html</a><br /><br />- Thermal expansion of the Earth's crust necessitates geoengineering (2011)<br /><a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/thermal-expansion.html">Arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/thermal-expansion.html</a>Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-71651275310168864052013-07-09T17:08:00.001-07:002013-07-09T17:08:57.066-07:00Methanetracker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FxXxLF_Lvmg/UdgXeS7fINI/AAAAAAAAKTs/wQl_Wfijba0/s1600/8456375685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FxXxLF_Lvmg/UdgXeS7fINI/AAAAAAAAKTs/wQl_Wfijba0/s1600/8456375685.jpg" /></a></div>
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Above, a screenshot from a video, at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l6PtWf4i9w">youtube.com/watch?v=3l6PtWf4i9w</a>, earlier posted as <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/07/cruising-for-methane.html">Cruising for methane</a> with Sam Carana at the Arctic-news blog. The video was made with <a href="http://methanetracker.org/">methanetracker.org</a> where you can overlay IASI methane readings (over 1950 in yellow) on top of Google Earth.</div>
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Below are two videos made by <a href="https://plus.google.com/101868712682644328361/">Omar Cabrera</a> who created <a href="http://methanetracker.org/">methanetracker.org</a>. The video directly below provides some good help how to operate methanetracker, while the video at the bottom gives an excellent overview of the methane situation over the past few months. </div>
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Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-4911763999891879552013-06-04T02:49:00.001-07:002013-11-09T16:10:50.632-08:00Sea of OkhotskOn May 29 and June 2, 2013, sudden peak levels of methane in the atmosphere were registered of respectively 2241 and 2238 ppb at an altitude of 33,647.8 ft (10,255.8 mi). Such very high levels are unusual, particularly at such a high altitude. What could have caused this?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kC8dvjE9v-g/Ua2jRUeoFXI/AAAAAAAAJ3I/mc0-E5EYhZU/s1600/453658454part.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kC8dvjE9v-g/Ua2jRUeoFXI/AAAAAAAAJ3I/mc0-E5EYhZU/s1600/453658454part.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image by Sam Carana, adapted from screenshot from <a href="http://usgs.gov/">USGS.gov</a></i></td></tr>
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A magnitude 8.3 earthquake hit the Sea of Okhotsk on May 24, 2013. Depth was over 378.4 mi (608.9 km).<br />
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Earthquakes at such a depth can be felt at great distances from the epicenter. Across Siberia, tremors were felt and buildings trembled. In Moscow, some 4500 miles (7242 km) away, local law enforcement officers evacuated 850 people from two apartment buildings after residents said the buildings were shaking, reported the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/25/world/europe/russia-earthquake-hits-eastern-coast.html">NYTimes</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Screenshot from <a href="http://usgs.gov/">USGS.gov</a></i></td></tr>
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The cluster of earthquakes and aftershocks (above image) is likely to have caused methane hydrates in the Sea of Okhotsk to become destabilized. Due to the long travel from the bottom of the sea to the sea surface, much of the methane may have been broken down by methane-eating bacteria without entering the atmosphere. Nonetheless, as indicated by the image below, large amounts of methane did reach the atmosphere in the vicinity of the location of these earthquakes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ETPjJi-LFrQ/Un7IWgQV6GI/AAAAAAAAL3U/antWjHZefRc/s1600/Sea-of-Okhotsk-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ETPjJi-LFrQ/Un7IWgQV6GI/AAAAAAAAL3U/antWjHZefRc/s640/Sea-of-Okhotsk-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[ created with: <a href="http://methanetracker.org/">methanetracker.org</a> - click on image to enlarge ]</td></tr>
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The above image shows methane at ten altitudes close to sea level. Higher in the atmosphere, methane tends to center around the equator. The earthquakes in the Sea of Okhotsk are likely to have contributed to the above-mentioned peak readings. Due to the depth at which the earthquakes occurred, they caused tremors thousands of miles away and are therefore likely to have been caused additional destabilization of sediments elsewhere, especially along fault lines, with methane being released accordingly.<br />
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Particularly dangerous is the possibility that such a massive earthquake could trigger earthquakes further north, since a fault line connects the Sea of Okhotsk with the Laptev Sea, while a 5.4 magnitude earthquake (in blue on map above) did hit Siberia on this fault line earlier this year (on May 24, 2013).<br />
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Global methane levels have risen over the past few years and, without action, levels of methane in the atmosphere can be expected to continue to rise. There are some well-known sources of methane that are causing this increase, such as the growing number of vehicles around the world that are powered by fossil fuel and an increase in the number of coal-fired power plants in Asia. Lesser-known causes are emissions due to wildfires, fracking and a growing appetite for meat in developing countries. Some of the least-reported causes include increased methane levels in the atmosphere due to:<br />
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<li><b>Seabed destabilization</b> - Global warming causes extreme weather events that warm up the seabed. In addition, earthquakes contribute to destabilization of sediments containing huge amounts of methane in the form of free gas and hydrates.</li>
<li><b>Melting permafrost</b> - As the permafrost melts, it will be less capable to act as a cap that prevents methane originating from hydrates to enter the atmosphere, as discussed in more detail in a <a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/is-global-warming-breaking-up-the-integrity-of-the-permafrost.html">recent post</a>. </li>
<li><b>Aquifers</b> - Water in aquifers can contain high levels of dissolved methane. A hotter planet will see crop yields fall while increasing the need for irrigation, as has been concluded by studies such as this <a href="http://news.rice.edu/2013/06/03/climate-change-raises-stakes-on-us-ethanol-policy/">Rice University and the University of California at Davis study</a>. Pumping up more water will come with more methane escaping from aquifers.</li>
<li><b>Less oxygen in water</b> - As levels of free oxygen in water decrease, there is less opportunity for methane-eating bacteria to break down methane in the water. This is particularly important in case of large abrupt releases of methane from hydrates. A <a href="http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2011/05/04/methane-arctic/">two-part study</a> by Berkeley Lab and Los Alamos National Laboratory shows that, as global temperature increases and oceans warm, methane releases from clathrates would over time cause depletion of oxygen, nutrients, and trace metals needed by methane-eating microbes, resulting in ever more methane escaping into the air without being broken down in the water, as also described in an <a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2012/03/large-areas-of-open-ocean-starved-of.html">earlier post</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2011/05/04/methane-arctic/" imageanchor="1" style="color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fNa6Y7cjD3k/T1Lbfdb2fBI/AAAAAAAACN8/AFfEsnRy3sc/s1600/17454768684561.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a><br /><br />Accordingly, as above image shows, high levels of methane are projected for the Sea of Okhotsk by this study. </li>
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To get a better idea of the scale of the threat, a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2010GL045184/abstract">study published in 2010</a> points at pockmarks up to 11 km (6.8 mi) wide off the coast of New Zealand, in an area prone to earthquakes, indicating that large emissions from methane hydrates did occur in the past. The image below is from the <a href="http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/News-and-Events/Media-Releases/Scientists-find-mysterious-giant-pockmarks-on-chatham-rise-02-04-2013">April 2013 Press Release</a>. <span style="background-color: white; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.1875px;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ucPtId9_ovQ/Ua28RkKroTI/AAAAAAAAJ3o/a-Xp48UF-9E/s1600/Giant-pockmarks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="510" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ucPtId9_ovQ/Ua28RkKroTI/AAAAAAAAJ3o/a-Xp48UF-9E/s640/Giant-pockmarks.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Related</b><br />
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- Warming Gulf Stream causes methane release<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/10/warming-gulfstream-causes-methane-release.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/10/warming-gulfstream-causes-methane-release.html</a><br />
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- Is Global Warming breaking up the Integrity of the Permafrost?<br />
<a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/is-global-warming-breaking-up-the-integrity-of-the-permafrost.html">http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/is-global-warming-breaking-up-the-integrity-of-the-permafrost.html</a><br />
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- Large areas of open ocean starved of oxygen</div>
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<a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2012/03/large-areas-of-open-ocean-starved-of.html">http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2012/03/large-areas-of-open-ocean-starved-of.html</a></div>
Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-62791990411754697162013-06-04T01:13:00.001-07:002013-06-04T01:13:39.132-07:00High daily peak methane readings continue over Antarctica<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3WQ3EXU2ZSE/Ua2dfCtVgTI/AAAAAAAAJ2o/iFZQuKVTp8k/s1600/283454738-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3WQ3EXU2ZSE/Ua2dfCtVgTI/AAAAAAAAJ2o/iFZQuKVTp8k/s1600/283454738-2.jpg" /></a></div>
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Above chart shows that, over the past two months, high daily peak methane readings have been recorded over Antarctica. For comparison, the image below, by Dr. Leonid Yurganov, shows the methane levels averaged for April 2013, as registered by the NASA AIRS satellite. This may also help locate the source of these high levels of methane.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7y_uclgHJ2o/Ua2dq_UN5lI/AAAAAAAAJ2w/1C4Qr47oTHY/s1600/SHpolar2013_4_AIRS_CH4_v6_600hPa+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7y_uclgHJ2o/Ua2dq_UN5lI/AAAAAAAAJ2w/1C4Qr47oTHY/s640/SHpolar2013_4_AIRS_CH4_v6_600hPa+.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b>Related posts:</b><br />
<br />- Is Global Warming breaking up the Integrity of the Permafrost?<br /><a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/is-global-warming-breaking-up-the-integrity-of-the-permafrost.html">http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/is-global-warming-breaking-up-the-integrity-of-the-permafrost.html</a><br /><div>
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- Antarctic methane peaks at 2249 ppb<a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/antarctic-methane-peaks-at-2249-ppb.html">http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/antarctic-methane-peaks-at-2249-ppb.html</a><br />
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- Methane hydrates<br />
<a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/04/methane-hydrates.html">http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/04/methane-hydrates.html</a></div>
Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-57488554332212580422013-05-22T01:51:00.000-07:002014-02-10T17:01:45.496-08:00Is Global Warming breaking up the Integrity of the Permafrost?Permafrost was long thought to act as a cap preventing methane from hydrates to enter the atmosphere. For many years, University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov studied methane emissions in the Arctic Ocean. In a <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116532">2010 press release</a>, Shakhova said: "<i>The amount of methane currently coming out of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is comparable to the amount coming out of the entire world's oceans. Subsea permafrost is losing its ability to be an impermeable cap.</i>"<br />
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Is something similar happening to the permafrost in Antarctica and on the Himilayan Plateau? As the image below shows (mid-May 2013 levels, image added later by Sam Carana), very high levels of methane can be present over Antarctica around this time of year.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-75-E_D1x3cM/Uvl2VbiCCXI/AAAAAAAAMsU/-9SBPIWOUeU/s1600/Mid-May-2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-75-E_D1x3cM/Uvl2VbiCCXI/AAAAAAAAMsU/-9SBPIWOUeU/s1600/Mid-May-2013.jpg" /></a></div>
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The chart below shows very high methane levels over Antarctica in April and May 2013. High levels of methane over Antarctica were recorded before in 2013, as described in an earlier <a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/04/methane-hydrates.html">post at the methane-hydrates blog</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f1MO6APeH-M/UvlxHwKjvWI/AAAAAAAAMsE/QZnRAaEteks/s1600/74547657377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f1MO6APeH-M/UvlxHwKjvWI/AAAAAAAAMsE/QZnRAaEteks/s1600/74547657377.jpg" /></a></div>
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While above chart gives the peak readings at an altitude of 19,820 ft (or 6,041 m), the highest methane readings over Antarctica were not always recorded at that altitude. On April 29 and 30, 2013, when the above chart shows relatively low peak readings, readings of 2225 ppb were recorded at a lower altitude (14,385 ft or 4,384 m) over Antarctica. Similarly, the image below shows a reading of 2247 ppb on April 4, 2013, at that same lower altitude, higher than the peak reading for that day on above chart.<br />
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Are these high methane levels indications that global warming is breaking up the integrity of the permafrost in Antarctica as well?<br />
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The Himalayan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, or the world’s “third pole”, is located in central Asia and also contains huge quantities of permafrost. Methane hydrates were discovered on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in September 2009 in quantities estimated "to equal at least 35 billion tonnes of oil", according to a 2010 <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-03/06/c_13200033.htm">Xinhuanet report</a>.<br />
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The above chart with Antarctic daily peak methane readings gives an estimate for the highest methane reading over Antarctica on April 26, 2013. This because Antarctica didn’t appear to have the highest reading on that day, when methane readings were recorded of 2405 ppb at 469 mb pressure and of 2475 ppb at 367 mb pressure. The methane that caused these readings appears to originate from the Himalayan Plateau, as illustrated by the image below. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bGwedYRLdmk/UZx_97WRXBI/AAAAAAAAJ1A/KLvDbCEse1g/s1600/8376553737.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bGwedYRLdmk/UZx_97WRXBI/AAAAAAAAJ1A/KLvDbCEse1g/s1600/8376553737.png" /></a></div>
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What could have caused such extremely high methane emissions?<br />
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Could the methane have been released from wetlands? It was very hot around that time in South Asia, as illustrated by the image below showing temperatures in degrees Celsius for April 28, 2013. But the emissions appear to originate from an area with little vegetation, which also appears to rule out burning of biomass waste from rice productions as a cause. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XqFYwOueyC0/UZyAbkPH-RI/AAAAAAAAJ1I/9EVRCVoxu0Q/s1600/part-of-April-28-2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XqFYwOueyC0/UZyAbkPH-RI/AAAAAAAAJ1I/9EVRCVoxu0Q/s640/part-of-April-28-2013.jpg" height="248" width="640" /></a></div>
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Another explanation for such high methane readings is that they were caused by earthquakes. The image below shows a string of earthquakes that hit China, including a magnitude 6.6 quake on April 20, 2013, and a magnitude 5.3 quake on April 24, 2013.<br />
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It could be that the earthquakes lead to large methane releases from ruptured natural gas pipes and tanks. On the other hand, the methane releases appear to occur over a large area well next to the epicenter of the earthquakes, as shown on the animation below.<br />
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Also, methane releases associated with such a natural disaster would have been a one-off event. High methane levels did occur before over the Himalayan Plateau, as illustrated by the image below showing readings for several days in 2013 at the same altitude, including a reading of 2235 ppb on February 1, 2013. <br />
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Such recurring high readings could indicate that methane is bubbling up through the permafrost at the Himalayan Plateau. Shockwaves caused by the earthquakes could have accelerated the movement of free gas through the top layers of permafrost and they could also have caused destabilization of one or more methane hydrates, resulting in large abrupt release of methane into the atmosphere on April 26. <br />
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Loss of the integrity of the permafrost is particularly threatening in the Arctic, where the sea ice looks set to disappear within years, resulting in huge albedo changes in summer. Decrease of surface reflectivity results in increases in absorption of energy from sunlight and decreases in shortwave radiation in the atmosphere. The latter results in lower photo-dissociation rates of tropospheric gases. Photo-dissociation of the ozone molecule is the major process that leads to the production of OH (hydroxyl radical), the main oxidizing (i.e., cleansing) gas species in the troposphere. A <a href="http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/voulgarakis_01/">2009 NASA study</a> projects this to lead to a decrease in OH concentrations and a weakening of the oxidizing capacity of the Arctic troposphere, further increasing the vulnerability of the Arctic to warming in case of additional methane releases.<br />
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Levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are already very high in the Arctic atmosphere, while large quantities of black carbon get deposited on snow and ice, further contributing to the albedo changes. This threatens to result in rapid summer warming of many parts of the Arctic Ocean with very shallow waters. Additionally, rivers can bring increasingly warm water into those shallow seas in summer, adding to the threat that heat will penetrate the seabed that contains huge quantities of methane.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dyhsru7b9ks/URG7YxUJkPI/AAAAAAAAJSg/lHsq2ASmhJc/s1600/2763641.gif" imageanchor="1" style="color: #cc4411; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dyhsru7b9ks/URG7YxUJkPI/AAAAAAAAJSg/lHsq2ASmhJc/s1600/2763641.gif" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.222222328186035px; line-height: 20px;">Methane at up to 2241 ppb on January 23, 2013 - this is a 2.42 MB animation that may take some time to fully load</span></div>
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Above image, earlier included in a post at the <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/dramatic-increase-in-methane-in-the-arctic-in-january-2013.html">Arctic-news blog</a>, shows methane concentrations on January 23, 2013, when a reading of 2241 ppb was recorded in the Arctic. </div>
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Analysis of sediment cores collected in 2009 from under ice-covered Lake El'gygytgyn in the northeast Russian Arctic <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=127897&WT.mc_id=USNSF_58&WT.mc_ev=click">suggest</a> that, last time the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was about as high as it is today (roughly 3.5 to 2 million years ago), regional precipitation was three times higher and summer temperatures were about 15 to 16 degrees Celsius (59 to 61 degrees Fahrenheit), or about 8 degrees Celsius (14.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than today. <br />
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As temperatures rose back in history, it is likely that a lot of methane will have vented from hydrates in the Arctic, yet without causing runaway warming. Why not? The rise in temperature then is likely to have taken place slowly over many years. While on occasion this may have caused large abrupt releases of methane, the additional methane from such releases could each time be broken down within decades, also because global methane levels in the atmosphere were much lower than today.<br />
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In conclusion, the situation today is much more threatening, particularly in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS), as further described in the earlier post <a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/04/methane-hydrates.html">methane hydrates</a>.</div>
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Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-81653787780584706692013-05-10T18:15:00.001-07:002013-05-22T17:05:10.341-07:00Antarctic methane peaks at 2249 ppbMethane levels in the atmosphere above Antarctica peaked at 2249 parts per billion on May 9, 2013.<br />
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The chart below shows that very high levels of methane have been recorded over Antarctica for some time now.<script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/static/modules/gviz/1.0/chart.js" type="text/javascript"> {"dataSourceUrl":"//docs.google.com/spreadsheet/tq?key=0ArjFQnAaMpkXdDZXTnB3TjA5UXY4MWFSRDVfaGlNUUE&transpose=0&headers=1&range=A7%3AC44&gid=0&pub=1","options":{"vAxes":[{"titleTextStyle":{"bold":true,"color":"#222","italic":false,"fontSize":"12"},"useFormatFromData":true,"title":"parts per billion","minValue":null,"logScale":false,"viewWindow":{"min":null,"max":null},"maxValue":null},{"useFormatFromData":true,"minValue":null,"logScale":false,"viewWindow":{"min":null,"max":null},"maxValue":null}],"titleTextStyle":{"bold":true,"color":"#000","fontSize":"12"},"series":{"0":{"color":"#ff0000"},"1":{"color":"#ff00ff"},"2":{"color":"#bf9000"}},"booleanRole":"certainty","title":"Antarctic daily peak methane levels at 19,820ft (6,041m) altitude","height":464,"animation":{"duration":500},"legend":"in","width":681,"hAxis":{"useFormatFromData":true,"title":"Interactive chart by Sam Carana for methane-hydrates.blogspot.com
Hover over chart to view data for individual dates","slantedTextAngle":60,"slantedText":true,"minValue":null,"viewWindowMode":null,"textStyle":{"color":"#222","fontSize":"7"},"viewWindow":null,"maxValue":null},"isStacked":false,"tooltip":{}},"state":{},"view":{"columns":[{"calc":"stringify","type":"string","sourceColumn":0},1,2]},"isDefaultVisualization":true,"chartType":"ColumnChart","chartName":"Chart 1"} </script>These very high methane emissions occur on the heights of East Antarctica. The map below shows the highest altitudes on Antarctica colored red.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R1GQ7V65Cp4/UY2MJcFKDjI/AAAAAAAAJvM/AXxuKLmspP4/s1600/antarctic2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="442" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R1GQ7V65Cp4/UY2MJcFKDjI/AAAAAAAAJvM/AXxuKLmspP4/s640/antarctic2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antarctic map by the U.K.-based Centre for Polar Observation & Modelling (CPOM)</td></tr>
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Antarctica is covered in a thick layer of ice, as indicated by the image below. It appears that these very high emissions are caused by methane from hydrates that is escaping in the form of free gas bubbling up through the ice sheet.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N68LWLcaFDU/UY2MWnbzrTI/AAAAAAAAJvU/cAaE4DdnAFc/s1600/image_gallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="402" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N68LWLcaFDU/UY2MWnbzrTI/AAAAAAAAJvU/cAaE4DdnAFc/s640/image_gallery.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antarctic map showing the height of the ice sheet created with CryoSat-2 data</td></tr>
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The danger is that such emissions will escalate, not only over Antarctica, but also on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and in the Arctic.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/peter.carter.961">Peter Carter</a>, contributor to the <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/">Arctic-news blog</a>, comments:<br />
<blockquote>
“This is of enormous planetary emergency significance because unlike the Arctic methane hydrate is the only possible source of this extraordinary emission of Antarctic methane.”</blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/albert.kallio">Albert Kallio</a>, also contributor to the <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/">Arctic-news blog</a>, comments:<br />
<blockquote>
“The Antarctic methane rise is an extremely worrying phenomenon. It can be caused by two processes. Neither a direct sunlight, nor atmospheric warming, can reach to the base of the ice sheet. However, it is still almost certainly to be a result of global warming – teleconnections – like other recent methane rises seen over the Arctic Ocean, Siberia and North American tundra: <br />
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(1) Theoretically, it could be a result of melt water percolation through Antarctic ice sheet to its base, and then, thawing the permafrost soil beneath the ice sheet.<br />
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(2) I suggest that methane is coming out from the Antarctic soils because of isostatic equilibrium change that has occurred between the weight loads levied by the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) and that of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). <br />
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While the East Antarctic ice accumulates weight, the West Antarctic ice loses its weight due to ablation (melting). As the fluids both in the asthenosphere and the crust are incompressible, the changing fluid pressure of one channels from one to the other via the subterranean fluid conduits. These can consist both hot magma and water which transports heat from deep towards the surface.<br />
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Asthenosphere is made of extremely water-soluble, but dense rock, Peridotite. If incursion of water from above gets into the peridotite, it hydrates and starts to melt. Hydrogen in water molecule tears molecules like NaCl apart to Na+ and Cl- as the bouncing water molecule swipes its two hydrogen tails in collisions with the other molecules. While NaCl is completely knocked down by water molecule’s hydrogen, in case of Peridotite molecules only some atomic parts are blown out, hence the process is called “partial melting”.<br />
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The First Nations UN General Assembly motion’s geophysical annotations attribute the onset of the Ice Ages completely for the continental plates drifting phenomenon. The continental plate drifting had caused crustal shearing at very high latitudes. The newly formed faults and the shearing of the continental plate then allowed water to reach Peridotite to liquefy it. This caused large lava floods onto sea floor boiling the ocean's water which then landed as snow.<br />
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My view is that Antarctica has developed now an adequate disequilibrium which pumps water into Peridotite, which then liquefies in the asthenosphere (and also in the crustal plate where there are Peridotite pockets within the Antarctic plate). <br />
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As a result of the ice sheet disequilibrium, some ice and water has forced their way into the Peridotite reservoirs, now liquefying it. This liquefaction allows heat to escape in the forms of heated water (a creation of subglacial geysers), or rock incursions such as lava floods and subglacial volcanoes that have started to develop beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The Gamburtsev Range is probably this kind of series of volcanoes and is a candidate for the EAIS methane.<br />
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As the heat starts rising more to the surface to (the base of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet), the ground warms and releases methane which is then dissolved into subglacial Antarctic water currents. (There are plenty of subglacial water currents and lakes to transport methane and dissolve it in water beneath Antarctic ice.) <br />
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The accumulation of water, pre-existing faults in bed rocks under the Antarctic ice sheet and local weight loads all determining where and when the methane starts oozing out once the ice sheet has now sufficiently changed from its multi-millennial equilibrium.”</blockquote>
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:65_Myr_Climate_Change.png">graph</a> below shows when glaciation and build-up of the ice sheet took place on Antarctica back in history.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RLMqyLnd6Gc/UZHaLZkcGAI/AAAAAAAAJzg/J2nd-eiAV9Q/s1600/65_Myr_Climate_Change.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RLMqyLnd6Gc/UZHaLZkcGAI/AAAAAAAAJzg/J2nd-eiAV9Q/s1600/65_Myr_Climate_Change.png" /></a><br />
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Above graph also shows the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleocene-Eocene_Thermal_Maximum">Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum</a> (PETM). Wikipedia <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:65_Myr_Climate_Change.png">adds</a> that due to the coarse sampling and averaging involved in this record, it is likely that the full magnitude of the PETM is underestimated by a factor of 2-4 times its apparent height. Temperature anomaly differences between geographic areas are also indicated on the map below, from the <a href="http://www.uta.edu/faculty/awinguth/petm_research/petm_home.html">University of Texas Arlington Climate Research Group</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Y5EHlNoHvQ/UZRvbKiY74I/AAAAAAAAJ0I/lX96GLIVef8/s1600/PETMfig1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Y5EHlNoHvQ/UZRvbKiY74I/AAAAAAAAJ0I/lX96GLIVef8/s640/PETMfig1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Geographical reconstruction for the PETM from the PALEOMAP Project (www.scotese.com) . <br />
Boxes indicate reconstructed surface temperature anomalies for the PETM relative to Paleocene background <br />
temperatures based on oxygen isotopes, Mg/Ca ratios and TEX86 (compiled by Appy Sluijs)</td></tr>
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When comparing today's situation with the situation millions of years ago, it's good to keep the following points in mind:<br />
<ol>
<li>Methane hydrates on Antarctica formed after glaciation, making it likely that the quantity of methane on Antarctica today is higher than during the PETM. The role of methane hydrates in this event is further discussed in a number of papers, such as by <a href="http://www.clim-past.net/7/831/2011/cp-7-831-2011.pdf">Dickens</a> and by <a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v4/n12/full/ngeo1301.html">Gu et al</a>. </li>
<li>Levels of all greenhouse gases (in particular methane) and other climate forcers (such as soot) in the atmosphere are already very high today and rising. The rate at which temperatures are rising today is extremely rapid, even compared with a peak such as the PETM, when global temperatures rose by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleocene%E2%80%93Eocene_Thermal_Maximum">about 6 °C (11 °F) over a period of approximately 20,000 years</a>. </li>
</ol>
Today's situation therefore has more potential for methane to accumulate faster in the atmosphere than it can be broken down naturally, threatening to escalate into runaway warming exceeding PETM conditions.Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-63177884720364827112013-04-01T18:25:00.001-07:002022-07-14T04:56:04.695-07:00Methane hydrates<b>1. Methane venting at poles</b><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LcLUhZ5zKTQ/UVS7XDubTGI/AAAAAAAAJkE/ly1NXU-4z4U/s1600/94638656378.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LcLUhZ5zKTQ/UVS7XDubTGI/AAAAAAAAJkE/ly1NXU-4z4U/s1600/94638656378.png" /></a></div>
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Image 1. (above) shows high levels of methane over the poles. Peak levels of over 2000 ppb over Antarctica have been recorded repeatedly over the past few months, which is extraordinary, the more so since the photochemical sink for methane is typically strongest during summer, while average levels of methane over Antarctica have historically been the lowest on Earth (image 2. below).<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3xIqtJaFoa8/UVTHYBoIS6I/AAAAAAAAJkU/u-sExXD7f0A/s1600/745375723538.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3xIqtJaFoa8/UVTHYBoIS6I/AAAAAAAAJkU/u-sExXD7f0A/s1600/745375723538.jpg" /></a></div>
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The above image 1. also shows high levels of methane over the Arctic; very high methane levels are now commonly recorded in the Arctic. The animation below, from the <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/dramatic-increase-in-methane-in-the-arctic-in-january-2013.html">Arctic-news blog</a>, shows methane levels at various altitudes on January 23, 2013, ranging up to 2241 ppb at 742 mb. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dyhsru7b9ks/URG7YxUJkPI/AAAAAAAAJSg/lHsq2ASmhJc/s1600/2763641.gif" style="color: #cc4411; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dyhsru7b9ks/URG7YxUJkPI/AAAAAAAAJSg/lHsq2ASmhJc/s1600/2763641.gif" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12.2222px; line-height: 20px;">Image 3. Methane at up to 2241 ppb on January 23, 2013 - this is a 2.42 MB animation that may take some time to fully load</span></td></tr>
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Note that such high levels of methane occur in the Arctic during the northern winter, when lack of sunshine in the Arctic and low water temperatures make it unlikely that the methane was generated by biological processes. This indicates that the methane instead originated from hydrates and free gas in sediments underneath the sea.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--ma2gmqeeAs/UUQui3RGx8I/AAAAAAAAJfs/zYkCr51G60k/s1600/2895803.gif" style="color: #771000; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--ma2gmqeeAs/UUQui3RGx8I/AAAAAAAAJfs/zYkCr51G60k/s1600/2895803.gif" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 4. IASI methane levels March 1-10, 2013, by Leonid Yurganov, against NSIDC sea ice <br />
concentration map March 12, 2013. Note: this is a 3.09 file that may take some time to fully load.</td></tr>
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Image 4., from the <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/03/record-methane-in-arctic-early-march-2013.html">Arctic-news blog</a>, shows that methane emissions in the Arctic line up very closely with the contours of sea ice and land, which makes it unlikely that the methane originated from leaking natural gas pipes or industrial activity on land.<br />
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In conclusion, at both poles methane levels can be very high, i.e. higher than elsewhere on Earth, and this methane likely originated from hydrates that have become destabilized by temperature rises.<br />
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<b>2. How much methane is there?</b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p4h6dWpO-f0/UVcxtwTqz_I/AAAAAAAAJkk/mpu5SDeO9-Q/s1600/9464538489.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p4h6dWpO-f0/UVcxtwTqz_I/AAAAAAAAJkk/mpu5SDeO9-Q/s1600/9464538489.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;">Image 5. by Jemma L. Wadham</td></tr>
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An estimated 21,000 petagrams (1Pg equals 10<sup>15</sup>g) of organic carbon are buried beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet, estimates a research team led by Jemma Wadham. The potential amount of methane hydrate and free methane gas beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet could be up to 400 billion tonnes (that is, 400 Pg of carbon, or 400 Gt, see table below).<br />
<br />
Image 5. on the right shows the ice margin of an Antarctic glacier, depicting frozen lake sediments in the foreground. When ice sheets form, they overrun organic matter such as that found in lakes, tundra and ocean sediments, which is then cycled to methane under the anoxic conditions beneath the ice sheet. The methane could be released to the atmosphere if the ice sheet shrinks and exposes these old sedimentary basins.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4OrapoFy3aA/T0xSog8-ngI/AAAAAAAACME/HgONS12fQ00/s1600/745563959364589.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: none; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; position: relative; text-align: center;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 6. Conversion table</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img align="right" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M3R7FXw70ow/T0x1XbQSyfI/AAAAAAAACM8/n2ErvOspp7o/s1600/43567889545-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 7. The East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the Arctic, the amounts of methane are equally vast. Shakhova et al. (2010) estimate the accumulated methane potential for the Eastern Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS, image 7. on the right) alone as follows:<br />
<ul>
<li>organic carbon in permafrost of about 500 Gt</li>
<li>about 1000 Gt in hydrate deposits</li>
<li>about 700 Gt in free gas beneath the gas hydrate stability zone.</li>
</ul>
Shakhova et al. (2008) consider release of up to 50 Gt of predicted amount of hydrate storage as highly possible for abrupt release at any time.<br />
<div>
<span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></span>By comparison, the total amount of methane currently in the atmosphere is about 5 Gt.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Methane's potency as a greenhouse gas</b><br />
<br />
Releases of methane into the atmosphere are very worrying, given methane's high potency as a greenhouse gas.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uUamAb6ScUY/UIOPqIIby4I/AAAAAAAAFrg/o-XVJiK8k6I/s1600/8456587690.jpg" style="background-color: white; color: #771000; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uUamAb6ScUY/UIOPqIIby4I/AAAAAAAAFrg/o-XVJiK8k6I/s1600/8456587690.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 8. IPCC and Methane's GWP (global warming potential)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7uiApPzkcVU/Ufsg_X9kYfI/AAAAAAAAKqI/iTkJpj2_TW0/s1600/methane-lifetime2.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7uiApPzkcVU/Ufsg_X9kYfI/AAAAAAAAKqI/iTkJpj2_TW0/s1600/methane-lifetime2.jpg" /></a>Figures in above table are for the current methane burden, i.e. about 5 Gt. IPCC figures for methane's lifetime (12 years) reflect the time it takes for a perturbation of methane to be reduced to 37% of its initial amount. The IPCC gives a figure of 8.4 years as the time it takes for half a perturbation to be broken down.<br />
<br />
Methane's global warming potential (GWP) will rise in case of large releases, since methane's lifetime will be extended as the burden rises, due to hydroxyl depletion. This is a feedback effect that the IPCC estimates will amplify the climate forcing of an addition of methane to the current atmosphere by lengthening the perturbation lifetime relative to the global atmospheric lifetime of methane by a factor of 1.4.<br />
<br />
A 2009 NASA article discussing the work by Drew Shindell mentions that, over the years, increases in global methane emissions have caused a <a href="http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20091029/">26% decrease in hydroxyl</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zuRBO1uTI70/T8A40kdMWBI/AAAAAAAAC98/TmJIISJOMSw/s1600/GWP-Methane-2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zuRBO1uTI70/T8A40kdMWBI/AAAAAAAAC98/TmJIISJOMSw/s1600/GWP-Methane-2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;">Image 9. Methane's Global Warming Potential</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The IPCC did upgrade methane's GWP several times, as illustrated in image 8. above.<br />
<br />
In its Fourth Assessment Report (AR4, 2007), the IPCC gave methane a GWP of 25 as much as carbon dioxide over 100 years, and 72 as much as carbon dioxide over 20 years.<br />
<br />
A 2009 study by Drew Shindell et al. points out that the above IPCC figures do not include direct+indirect radiative effects of aerosol responses to methane releases that increase methane's GWP to 105 over 20 years when included.<br />
<br />
In the context of tipping points, which is most appropriate regarding methane releases in the Arctic, it makes sense to focus on a short time horizon, i.e. as short as a few years, rather than decades.<br />
<br />
As image 9. (left) shows, based on the figures by Shindell et al. and using a horizon of 10 years, methane's GWP is more than 130 times that of carbon dioxide.<br />
<br />
In image 9., the blue line is based on IPCC AR4 figures. The red line is based on figures from the study by Shindell et al., which also concludes that methane's GWP would likely be further increased when including ecosystem responses.<br />
<br />
The danger is that a large abrupt methane release in the Arctic will trigger further local releases. This danger is particularly high the first few years after the methane enters the atmosphere, due to methane's high initial warming potential, as further discussed in the next two chapters.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the IPCC has further upgraded methane's lifetime and GWP, as illustrated by the image below.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uuNw-TakDx4/UlDq4fb7uUI/AAAAAAAALg4/gg_ZPcfvLjU/s1600/Methane-lifetime-and-GWP.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uuNw-TakDx4/UlDq4fb7uUI/AAAAAAAALg4/gg_ZPcfvLjU/s1600/Methane-lifetime-and-GWP.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image added October 2013, based on screenshot of IPCC document with text added by Sam Carana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's also worth noting that the IPCC now gives methane a Radiative Forcing of 0.97 W/m2 (up from 48 W/m2 in 2007), as discussed at the <a href="http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/p/myths.html">methane hydrates myths page</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Methane's Local Warming Potential</b><br />
<br />
Methane releases from hydrates at the poles differ in a number of ways from the methane that is typically released elsewhere around the globe:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eDIOO63pjm8/UVofekWl1CI/AAAAAAAAJlc/oXwhJ2CXzpM/s1600/lwp.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eDIOO63pjm8/UVofekWl1CI/AAAAAAAAJlc/oXwhJ2CXzpM/s320/lwp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 10. Methane's Local Warming Potential</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>Abrupt release of methane from hydrates will initially be highly concentrated in one location.<br />
<br />
Other types of methane releases (e.g. from wetlands, livestock, bio-waste and burning of fuel) occur spread out over the world throughout the year, i.e. such releases are pretty much global and continuous to start with and can be more easily broken down by hydroxyl that is continuously produced around the world. <br />
<br />
By contrast, much of the methane from an abrupt release in the Arctic Ocean will initially remain concentrated over the Arctic Ocean, which covers only 2.8% of the Earth's surface. While the methane will eventually spread around the world, this will take time. The Jet Stream acts as a barrier, preventing air from flowing out of the Arctic and preventing air from elsewhere to enter the Arctic. Nesbit mentions that a major methane release in the high Arctic would take 15-40 years to spread to the South Pole.<br />
<br />
Given the lack of hydroxyl in the Arctic atmosphere (see below), it may well be possible that some 20% of the methane from an abrupt release over the Arctic Ocean still remains there after 5 years. Using a GWP for methane of 130 times that of carbon dioxide over a period of ten years would already lift methane's LWP (local warming potential) over the Arctic to (130*100:2.8:5=) 929 over 10 ten years. For a shorter period, the Arctic LWP will be even higher. In conclusion, local concentration alone makes that a methane cloud still hanging over the Arctic five years after its release will have a huge LWP, i.e. well over 1000 times the potency locally that the same mass of carbon dioxide has globally.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>Additionally, high temperature anomalies make that methane releases at the poles will be felt more severely than elsewhere on Earth. These high temperature anomalies are the result of feedbacks such as albedo changes caused by melting. Image 11. below, from <a href="http://www.skepticalscience.com/antarctica-gaining-ice.htm">Skeptical Science</a>, pictures the loss of ice mass on Antarctica.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6i1ubn4MH78/UVc373-LWII/AAAAAAAAJkw/fTzv3aqpADY/s1600/SKS2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6i1ubn4MH78/UVc373-LWII/AAAAAAAAJkw/fTzv3aqpADY/s1600/SKS2.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 11. Estimates of Total Antarctic Land Ice Changes. Adapted from The Copenhagen Diagnosis. (CH= Chen et al. 2006, WH= Wingham et al. 2006, R= Rignot et al. 2008b, CZ= Cazenave et al. 2009 and V=Velicogna 2009)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Image 12. below, from the <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/10/big-changes-in-arctic-within-years.html">Arctic-news blog</a>, shows the three areas where albedo change will be felt most in the Arctic, i.e. sea ice loss, decline of albedo in Greenland and more early and extensive retreat of snow and ice cover in other areas in the Arctic.<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6fJx3nw-ygg/UItBHyRPMnI/AAAAAAAAFzQ/5w2UiLVK6Uc/s1600/956763866384523.jpg" style="color: #771000; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6fJx3nw-ygg/UItBHyRPMnI/AAAAAAAAFzQ/5w2UiLVK6Uc/s640/956763866384523.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 12. Big changes in Arctic within years</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Images 13. and 14. below show that ice in the Arctic can cool areas by more than 30 Watts per square meter, and in summer by up to 70 Watts per square meter.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eB6vdpNtCS8/T7hn01-4NhI/AAAAAAAAC2U/b_Jb0OVitIA/s1600/8435423756937.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eB6vdpNtCS8/T7hn01-4NhI/AAAAAAAAC2U/b_Jb0OVitIA/s1600/8435423756937.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333px;">Image 13. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wwtbIl6TAaE/UBTxEw98f3I/AAAAAAAADaE/ZANNqvdyK6I/s1600/7454267458364.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wwtbIl6TAaE/UBTxEw98f3I/AAAAAAAADaE/ZANNqvdyK6I/s1600/7454267458364.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333px;">Image 14.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Albedo change due to decline of snow and ice in the Arctic is one out of many feedbacks that, in a vicious cycle, further accelerate local warming. For more on these feedbacks, see the posts <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/08/diagram-of-doom.html">Diagram of Doom</a> and <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/further-feedbacks-of-sea-ice-decline-in-the-arctic.html">Further feedbacks of sea ice decline in the Arctic</a>.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li><div>
High levels of insolation in summer. The amount of solar radiation received by the Arctic at the June Solstice is higher than anywhere else on Earth, as illustrated by image 15. below. Similarly, solar radiation in Antarctica at the December solstice is the highest on Earth.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AZrrSGdEYHM/UTwWRo7E9DI/AAAAAAAAJdY/-SShchuvJ4U/s1600/73548693564895.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AZrrSGdEYHM/UTwWRo7E9DI/AAAAAAAAJdY/-SShchuvJ4U/s1600/73548693564895.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 15. Insolation on the Northern Hemisphere</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
</li>
<li>As mentioned above, low levels of hydroxyl will lift methane's LWP at the poles. Methane is typically broken down by hydroxyl in the atmosphere. Very little hydroxyl is present in the atmosphere over the poles, as illustrated by image 16. This makes that, in case of large abrupt methane release at the poles, the little hydroxyl that is there will soon be depleted, and the methane will hang around for much longer locally than elsewhere on Earth.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-adHhWvpPeoE/T2aZ9X61NzI/AAAAAAAACTM/tXdI35FK2o8/s1600/53758662384+5.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-adHhWvpPeoE/T2aZ9X61NzI/AAAAAAAACTM/tXdI35FK2o8/s1600/53758662384+5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 16. Global hydroxyl levels at day and night. Credit: Taraborelli et al. (2011)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</li>
</ul>
The above points make it likely that methane from a large abrupt release at the poles will hang around long enough locally to trap huge amounts of heat from summer sunshine, in an ecosystem that is already at the edge. The danger is that this heat will penetrate deep into the permafrost and trigger further releases of methane from the huge quantities of methane that are present in the form of free gas and hydrates.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Situation particularly dangerous in the Arctic</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> As described in the previous chapter, the local warming potential (LWP) of methane is very high in the Arctic. This LWP is further augmented by a number of circumstances that are particular for the situation in the Arctic today:<br />
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;">Soot.</b> The Arctic is experiencing a huge increase in the amount of sunlight that is absorbed in summer, as a result of soot deposited on snow and ice. Soot is particularly prevalent on the Northern Hemisphere.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li><b>Rivers. </b>A number of large rivers end up in the Arctic Ocean; they can carry warm water in summer, substantially contributing to warming up of coastal waters in the Arctic.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li><b>Albedo</b>. The rapid decline of Arctic sea ice and show cover in the Arctic result in ever more sunlight being absorbed in the Arctic, rather than being reflected back into space, as before. <br />
</li>
<li><b>Greenhouse gases.</b> Levels of carbon dioxide and methane are higher at high latitudes than elsewhere on Earth. <br />
</li>
<li><b>Wildfires.</b> Rising temperatures make the forests, tundras and peatlands in the Arctic more prone to wildfires that, apart from adding further soot, also add further pollutants in the atmosphere such as methane and carbon monoxide that take hydroxyl out of the air, thus extending methane's lifetime. <br />
</li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rwyb3BuqCKs/UBTx3h7MnWI/AAAAAAAADaM/vjGIn_XZtVU/s1600/Bathymetry9.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rwyb3BuqCKs/UBTx3h7MnWI/AAAAAAAADaM/vjGIn_XZtVU/s1600/Bathymetry9.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;">Image 17. Shallow waters in the Arctic Ocean</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li><b>Shallow waters.</b> As described in the previous chapters, the danger is that large abrupt release of methane will trigger subsequent releases, and this danger is particularly high in shallow seas that are so prominent in the Arctic (light blue areas on image 17 on the right).<br />
<br />
Being shallow makes waters prone to warm up quickly during summer peaks, allowing heat to penetrate the seabed. <br />
<br />
Methane rising through shallow waters will also enter the atmosphere more quickly. Elsewhere in the world, releases from hydrates underneath the seafloor will largely be oxidized by methanotroph bacteria in the water. In shallow waters, however, methane released from the seabed will quickly pass through the water column. Large abrupt releases will also quickly deplete the oxygen in the water, making it harder for bacteria to break down the methane.<br />
<br />
Additionally, the relatively low water temperatures and long sea currents in the Arctic Ocean are not very friendly toward methanotroph bacteria that would otherwise break down methane in the water, compared to elsewhere on Earth. In the Arctic, much of the methane that is abruptly released from the seabed is therefore prone to enter the atmosphere without being broken down by microbes in the water.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OQVPOiYdtc4/TwtarzWXyqI/AAAAAAAAB4U/5Tk1K-P1wDA/s1600/52056892-2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img align="left" alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OQVPOiYdtc4/TwtarzWXyqI/AAAAAAAAB4U/5Tk1K-P1wDA/s1600/52056892-2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;">Image 18. Shallow waters of the East Siberian Arctic<br />
Shelf (ESAS)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Being shallow, these waters can easily warm up all the way to the bottom in summer. Sea ice shrinkage increases the potential for storms and deepening of the wind-wave-mixing layer down the seafloor. (18)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://symposium2010.serdp-estcp.org/content/download/8914/107496/version/3/file/1A_Shakhova_Final.pdf">Shakova and Semiletov</a> warn, in a 2010 presentation, that some 75% of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS, rectangle on image left) is shallower than 50 m.<br />
<br />
As the Arctic ice-cap shrinks, there will be more open water, which not only absorbs more heat, but which also results in more potential for storms to cause damage to the seafloor in coastal areas such as the ESAS, where the water is on average only 45m deep.<br />
<br />
By how much will the sea warm up during such extreme local warming events?<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SAgNo6RNSOk/UAEtVTohg1I/AAAAAAAADT4/Lyfxz-VS_YY/s1600/65735385836458-cre.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SAgNo6RNSOk/UAEtVTohg1I/AAAAAAAADT4/Lyfxz-VS_YY/s1600/65735385836458-cre.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;">Image 19. Warming of coastal waters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Image 19. on the right, produced with <a href="http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/">NOAA</a> data, shows mean coastal sea surface temperatures of over 10°C (50°F) in some areas in the Arctic on August 22, 2007.<br />
<br />
In shallow waters, heat can more easily reach the bottom of the sea. In 2007, strong polynya activity caused more summertime open water in the Laptev Sea, in turn causing more vertical mixing of the water column during storms in late 2007, <a href="http://www.polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/6425/html_150">according to one study</a>, and bottom water temperatures on the mid-shelf increased by more than 3°C (5.4°F) compared to the long-term mean.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2012/EGU2012-3913.pdf">Another study</a> finds that drastic sea ice shrinkage causes increase in storm activities and deepening of the wind-wave-mixing layer down to depth ~50 m (164 ft) that enhance methane release from the water column to the atmosphere. Indeed, the danger is that heat will warm up sediments under the sea, containing methane in hydrates and as free gas, causing large amounts of this methane to escape rather abruptly into the atmosphere.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gsPkDXgl9PA/T0x1EiCUiTI/AAAAAAAACM0/jqlv2rKdVRc/s1600/43648676325643-2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gsPkDXgl9PA/T0x1EiCUiTI/AAAAAAAACM0/jqlv2rKdVRc/s320/43648676325643-2.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;">Image 20. Pingos and conduits. <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025322705003968">Hovland et al.</a> (2006)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Image 20. on the right, from a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025322705003968">study by Hovland et al.</a>, shows that hydrates can exist at the end of conduits in the sediment, formed when methane did escape from such hydrates in the past. Heat can travel down such conduits relatively fast, warming up the hydrates and destabilizing them in the process, which can result in huge abrupt releases of methane.<br />
<br />
Heat can penetrate cracks and conduits in the seafloor, destabilizing methane held in hydrates and in the form of free gas in the sediments.<br />
<br />
As said, when methane does escape from the seafloor, it can easily rise through shallow waters without getting oxidized by methanotroph bacteria. As the methane causes further warming in the atmosphere, this will contribute to the danger of even further methane escaping, further accelerating local warming, in a vicious cycle that can lead to catastrophic conditions well beyond the Arctic.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
Further reasons why the situation is particularly threatening in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) are described at <a href="http://arcticmethane.blogspot.com/p/faq.html#8">Arctic Methane FAQ</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>6. Changes in the Arctic</b><br />
<br />
In summary, the danger is that large abrupt release of methane will contribute to high sea surface temperature in summer, mixed down to the seafloor during storms, to penetrate cracks and conduits in the permafrost, destabilizing the methane held in sediments and triggering subsequent methane releases, and this danger is particularly high in the shallow seas of the Arctic.</div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7uv1VATzQHk/UAEiercj2WI/AAAAAAAADTQ/5uH-jB4QDv4/s1600/Extreme+warming+events.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7uv1VATzQHk/UAEiercj2WI/AAAAAAAADTQ/5uH-jB4QDv4/s1600/Extreme+warming+events.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image 21. For more details on feedbacks, see extended version of this image and discussion at</span></i></div>
<div>
<i><a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/08/diagram-of-doom.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/08/diagram-of-doom.html</span></a></i></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Above image 21. illustrates how this dangerous situation has developed in the Arctic, and what can be expected in future without action. The image pictures three kinds of warming (red lines) and their main causes:<br />
<ol>
<li>Emissions by people cause global warming, with temperatures rising around the globe, including the Arctic. High levels of greenhouse gases in the Arctic, combined with the impact of aerosols such as soot, and rivers that end in shallow waters in the Arctic combine to cause high summer temperature peaks in the Arctic. In other words, global warming is amplified in the Arctic.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>Accelerating Arctic warming is caused by at least ten feedback effects. Melting of snow and ice causes albedo changes, i.e. less sunlight gets reflected back into space and instead gets absorbed, causing further warming. Additionally, soot, dust and volatile organic compounds settle down on snow and ice, causing further albedo change.<br />
<br />
Three of these feedbacks are pictured as gold lines:<br />
<ul>
<li>Fires feedback: Accelerated warming in the Arctic is changing the Jet Stream, contributing to increased frequency and intensity of droughts and heatwaves.</li>
<li>Albedo feedback: Accelerated warming in the Arctic also speeds up the decline of ice and snow cover, further accelerating albedo change.</li>
<li>Methane feedback: Methane releases in the Arctic further add to the acceleration of warming in the Arctic, further contributing to weaken Arctic methane stores, in a vicious cycle that threatens to escalate into runaway global warming.<br />
<br />
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Runaway warming. Accelerating warming further weakens the capability of the seabed to hold the methane that is contained in the form of hydrates and free gas in sediments under the sea, in a vicious cycle that threatens to lead to runaway warming.</li>
</ol>
<b>7. Runaway warming</b><br />
<br />
What would the impact be of abrupt release of 1Gt of methane in the Arctic, compared to the total global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel burning, cement manufacture, and gas flaring? Image 22. below gives a rather conservative impact, showing a rapid decline toward a small residual impact as carbon dioxide.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uTtsR7XcwX4/T6YoMSUo6FI/AAAAAAAACuU/6SdSK2sUOIw/s1600/1Gtofmethanetitle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uTtsR7XcwX4/T6YoMSUo6FI/AAAAAAAACuU/6SdSK2sUOIw/s1600/1Gtofmethanetitle.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 22. Abrupt release of 1 Gt of methane</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Above graph does not yet include the indirect effect of triggering further releases. This is especially a threat in the Arctic, given the large presence of methane in sediments, the accelerated warming already occurring in the Arctic, the little oxidation that takes place in the Arctic atmosphere, and the time it will take for abruptly released methane to spread away from the Arctic.<br />
<br />
The additional warming that this will cause in the Arctic will make that the decline of sea ice and snow cover will take place even more dramatically than is already the case now. There will be a huge warming impact, due to the albedo change caused by decline of snow and ice combined with the warming impact of methane. This threatens to trigger further releases of methane in the Arctic, with their joint impact accumulating as illustrated in the image below.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2RJlBVev8MA/T6YrKbvIrrI/AAAAAAAACug/lFh07-yBfPE/s1600/927455645823.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2RJlBVev8MA/T6YrKbvIrrI/AAAAAAAACug/lFh07-yBfPE/s1600/927455645823.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 23. The accumulating impact of methane releases in the Arctic</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
For more details on above two graphs, also see the page <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/how-much-time-is-there-left-to-act.html">How much time is there left to act?</a><br />
<br />
Dramatic warming will first strike in the Arctic, but will soon spread, threatening to cause heatwaves and firestorms across North America and Siberia, adding additional soot and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere globally, as forests, peat bogs and tundras at higher latitudes burn, threatening to escalate in runaway global warming.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Temperature rise</b></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Image 24. shows how global warming (blue line) is projected to eventuate based on NASA global temperature anomalies. Note that the rise is projected to be much steeper in the Arctic (latitudes 64 North to 90 North, pink line).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GX0olVdKh9w/UVjguBxA0tI/AAAAAAAAJlE/Gmu8wO_2GJY/s1600/Three-kinds-of-warming.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GX0olVdKh9w/UVjguBxA0tI/AAAAAAAAJlE/Gmu8wO_2GJY/s640/Three-kinds-of-warming.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 24. Global warming, accelerated warming in the Arctic, and runaway global warming</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If runway warming will eventuate as described in the previous chapters, the world as a whole will gradually catch up with such a steep rise in a matter of years (white line). The rise in global temperatures will be particularly steep as forests and biomass contained in soils will ignite during heatwaves and cause huge amounts of soot, carbon dioxide, methane and further emissions to enter the atmosphere.<br />
<br />
<b>9. Destruction and Extinction</b><br />
<br />
In the above projection, runaway global warming will catch up with Arctic warming by 2039, resulting in a global temperature increase of 10 degrees Celsius and rising. The heatwaves that will come with such a temperature rise will in itself be enough to cause crop losses at massive scale. Additionally, heatwaves at high latitudes will cause wildfires, e.g. in Siberia, which has a very high soil carbon content (see image below).<br />
<br style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3FH39lbKWyw/TxKJ5EHoatI/AAAAAAAAB5k/-poMo8d6ens/s1600/soil-carbon-2.jpg" style="background-color: white; color: #771100; line-height: 21px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3FH39lbKWyw/TxKJ5EHoatI/AAAAAAAAB5k/-poMo8d6ens/s1600/soil-carbon-2.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 25. Organic soil carbon content</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The heatwaves in Russia provide a gloomy preview of what could happen as temperatures rise at high latitudes. Firestorms in the peat-lands, tundras and forests in Siberia could release huge amounts of emissions, including soot, much of which could settle on the Himalayan plateau, darkening the ice and snow and resulting in more local heat absorption. Rapid melt of glaciers will cause flooding at first, followed by dramatic decreases in the flow of river water that up to a billion people now depend on for water supply and irrigation. </div>
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U2ABwnzi6w4/UVjk0MuFOpI/AAAAAAAAJlM/fGPkfXnea20/s1600/83456355737.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U2ABwnzi6w4/UVjk0MuFOpI/AAAAAAAAJlM/fGPkfXnea20/s1600/83456355737.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 26. Warming and feedbacks leading to destruction and extinction at massive scale </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Taking no action risks extinction for many species, including humans, possibly within one human generation. With so much at stake, the cost of taking action is dwarfed by the price paid when no action is taken. The longer the delay in action, the larger the risk becomes and the more difficult, expensive and risky it will become to take measures to try and reduce the danger.<br />
<br />
<b>10. Ways to avoid catastrophe</b><br />
<br />
It takes a comprehensive climate plan to combine the policies that jointly work most effectively to avoid the catastrophic climate change that has been pictured in the previous chapters.<br />
<br />
Such a comprehensive climate plan needs to combine emission reduction policies with policies that can remove pollutants such as carbon dioxide and methane from the atmosphere and oceans. Furthermore, solar radiation management methods to to be prepared to rapidly cool the Arctic.<br />
<br />
A comprehensive climate plan will operate along several lines of action simultaneously.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yf5JjwLelPM/TjdDKwjJ86I/AAAAAAAABY4/ZACxqFatjSU/s1600/feebates-607x410.jpg" style="border: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; position: relative;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 27. Energy feebates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first line of action of most climate plans is to cut emissions. Two types of <a href="http://feebates.blogspot.com/p/feebates.html">feebates</a>, working separately, yet complimentary, can cut emissions most effectively and can be implemented locally in a budget-neutral way, without requiring complicated international agreements:<br />
<ol>
<li>energy feebates (pictured above) in sectors such as electricity, heating and transport</li>
<li>feebates in sectors such as agriculture, land use, waste management and construction (pictured below).</li>
</ol>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VTnDdpHxWJg/T5kuIQIfcMI/AAAAAAAACkM/T7t6R6cluCQ/s1600/bfeebates447x300.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VTnDdpHxWJg/T5kuIQIfcMI/AAAAAAAACkM/T7t6R6cluCQ/s1600/bfeebates447x300.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 28. Feebates in sectors such as agriculture, land use and construction</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Pictured on the left are feebates that impose fees on sales of Portland cement, nitrogen fertilizers and livestock products. This will make further cuts in emissions.<br />
<br />
The revenues are then used to fund rebates on clean construction and on soil supplements containing biochar and olive sand, which will remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in buildings, soil, river banks, roads and pavement.<br />
<br />
Working separately, yet complimentary, energy feebates and feebates in agriculture and other sectors can dramatically bring down carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and oceans; as a result, atmospheric carbon dioxide could be brought back to pre-industral levels of around 280ppm by the end of the century.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XnKdqCB3Y0Y/T5korZZqEyI/AAAAAAAACjs/BPCg4XIS5-s/s1600/2feebates.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #6699cc; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: initial;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XnKdqCB3Y0Y/T5korZZqEyI/AAAAAAAACjs/BPCg4XIS5-s/s1600/2feebates.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Image 29. Getting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere back to 280ppm. <br />
For further discussion, also see <a href="http://sustainable-economy.blogspot.com/2011/09/towards-sustainable-economy.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: initial;">Towards a Sustainable Economy</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
These two feebates will be effective on two lines of action, i.e. on cutting emissions and on reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and oceans.<br />
<br />
Even with these measures, temperatures will keep rising for some time, as excess ocean heat will get transferred to the atmosphere over the years and as aerosols (particularly sulfur) fall away that are currently emitted when fuel is burned and that mask the full wrath of global warming.<br />
<br />
Continued warming comes with numerous feedbacks. Combined, these feedbacks threaten to trigger runaway global warming, i.e. warming that will cause mass death, destruction and extinction.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dDM6emkvpp8/UfBr5fwH0nI/AAAAAAAAKjw/-ADk1lzdTBc/s1600/Diagram-of-Doom-and-3-part-action-plan-July-4-2013.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="548" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dDM6emkvpp8/UfBr5fwH0nI/AAAAAAAAKjw/-ADk1lzdTBc/s640/Diagram-of-Doom-and-3-part-action-plan-July-4-2013.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/president-obama-here-s-a-climate-plan.html" style="background-color: white; color: #771000; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.2222px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;">Image 30. Green lines of action that each need to be implemented, i.e. no line of action should not wait for another, nor should action on one line be used as an excuse to delay action on another line. Where lines of action are grouped together in three parts, numbers merely show relationships with the kinds of warming pictured at the top of the image.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This means that, in addition to the first two lines of action, further lines of action will be necessary, i.e. Solar radiation management, and Methane management and further action. Further action includes regulatory measures such as ending commercial flights over the Arctic and support for pyrolysis to avoid burning of biomass. Adaptation efforts will also be included in further action.<br />
<br />
The image below pictures several methods of Arctic methane management that should get high priority, given the threat of hydrate destabilization in the Arctic.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PX-uwWm9d3U/ULr3gR3PHnI/AAAAAAAAHEA/DPElF9TiTkg/s1600/Arctic-Methane-Management-2.jpg" style="border: none; color: #336699; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; position: relative;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="color: #771000;">Image 31. <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/arctic-methane-management.html" style="color: #771000; text-decoration: none;">Arctic Methane Management</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some aspects of climate change are hard to tackle locally. This is particularly the case for the situation in the Arctic which does require specific action, while many countries may feel that the region is too remote from their geographic responsibility.<br />
<br />
In this case, it makes sense to add fees, e.g., on commercial international flights (in addition to fees that may already have been imposed locally, such as on jetfuel), and to use the reveneus to fund action such as the vessels proposed by Stephen Salter and John Latham, in order to provide much-needed cooling in the Arctic locally during the northern summer.<br />
<br />
Fees imposed on commercial international flights could fund solar radiation management, while the two types of feebates described further above will also be most effective in further lines of action, i.e. in Arctic methane management and further action.<br />
<br />
Image 32. below pictures feebates that in many cases can be implemented locally on a budget-neutral basis.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CgeUsq-mII4/T5kuY23oOMI/AAAAAAAACkU/Kc_nkZJldww/s1600/Nov-14-2011.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: none; color: #ac1520; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; position: relative; text-align: center;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 32. Feebates (yellow lines)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For further discussion of feebates, see <a href="http://feebates.blogspot.com/2013/02/implementation-of-feebates.html">this post</a> at the Feebates blog.<br />
<br />
<b>Text References</b><br />
<br />
1. Potential methane reservoirs beneath Antarctica<br />
Press release University of Bristol (2012)<br />
<div>
<a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8742.html">http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8742.html</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2. Potential methane reservoirs beneath Antarctica<br />
J. L.Wadham, S. Arndt, S. Tulaczyk, M. Stibal, M. Tranter, J. Telling, G. P. Lis, E. Lawson, A. Ridgwell, A. Dubnick, M. J. Sharp, A. M. Anesio & C. Butler (2012)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v488/n7413/full/nature11374.html?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureClimate">http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v488/n7413/full/nature11374.html?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureClimate</a><br />
<br /></div>
3. Methane release from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf and the Potential for Abrupt Climate Change<br />
<a href="http://www.iarc.uaf.edu/people/nshakhov">Natalia Shakhova</a> and Igor Semiletov (2010)<br />
<a href="http://symposium2010.serdp-estcp.org/content/download/8914/107496/version/3/file/1A_Shakhova_Final.pdf">Presentation</a> at <a href="http://symposium2010.serdp-estcp.org/Agenda-at-a-Glance">Symposium</a>, <a href="http://symposium2010.serdp-estcp.org/Technical-Sessions/1A">November 30, 2010</a><br />
<a href="http://symposium2010.serdp-estcp.org/content/download/8914/107496/version/3/file/1A_Shakhova_Final.pdf">http://symposium2010.serdp-estcp.org/content/download/8914/107496/version/3/file/1A_Shakhova_Final.pdf</a><br />
<br />
4. On carbon transport and fate in the East Siberian Arctic land–shelf–atmosphere system<br />
Semiletov et al. (2012)<br />
<a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/1/015201">http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/1/015201</a> <br />
<br />
5. Anomalies of methane in the atmosphere over the East Siberian shelf: Is there any sign of methane leakage from shallow shelf hydrates?<br />
<div>
Shakhova, Semiletov, Salyuk and Kosmach (2008)<br />
<a href="http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU2008/01526/EGU2008-A-01526.pdf">EGU General Assembly 2008</a><br />
<div>
<a href="http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU2008/01526/EGU2008-A-01526.pdf">http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU2008/01526/EGU2008-A-01526.pdf</a><br />
<br />
6. Working Group I: The Physical Science Basis, Table 2.14<br />
IPCC, Climate Change 2007<br />
<a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch2s2-10-2.html">http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch2s2-10-2.html</a><br />
<br />
7. Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions<br />
Drew Shindell et al. (2009)<br />
<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/326/5953/716.abstract">http://www.sciencemag.org/content/326/5953/716.abstract</a><br />
<br />
8. Poster at AGU 2011<br />
Arctic Methane Emergency Group (AMEG), artwork by Sam Carana (2011)<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/agu-poster.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/agu-poster.html</a><br />
<br />
9. Working Group I: The Physical Science Basis, FAQ 10.3<br />
IPCC, Climate Change 2007<br />
<a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/faq-10-3.html">http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/faq-10-3.html</a><br />
<br />
10. Working Group I: The Scientific Basis, 4.1.1 Sources of Greenhouse Gases<br />
IPCC, TAR (2001)<br />
<a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg1/130.htm#tab41a">http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg1/130.htm#tab41a</a><br />
<br />
11. Atmospheric Chemistry and Greenhouse Gases, Executive Summary<br />
IPCC, TAR, 04 (2001)<br />
<a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg1/128.htm">http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg1/128.htm</a><br />
<br />
12. Interactions with Aerosols Boost Warming Potential of Some Gases<br />
NASA (2009)<br />
<a href="http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20091029/">http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20091029/</a><br />
<br />
13. Reactive greenhouse gas scenarios: Systematic exploration of uncertainties and the role of atmospheric chemistry<br />
Prather et al. (2012)<br />
<a href="http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2012/2012GL051440.shtml">http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2012/2012GL051440.shtml</a><br />
<br />
14. Hydroxyl radical buffered by isoprene oxidation over tropical forests<br />
Taraborelli et al (2012)<br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1405.html">http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1405.html</a><br />
<br />
15. Have sudden large releases of methane from geological reservoirs occurred since the Last Glacial Maximum, and could such releases occur again?<br />
<a href="http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/search?author1=Euan+G.+Nisbet&sortspec=date&submit=Submit">Euan G. Nisbet</a> (2002)<br />
<a href="http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/360/1793/581.abstract">http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/360/1793/581.abstract</a><br />
<br />
16. How much time is there left to act?<br />
Sam Carana (2012)<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/how-much-time-is-there-left-to-act.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/how-much-time-is-there-left-to-act.html</a><br />
<br />
17. First drilling subsea permafrost in the southeastern Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Arctic Shelf: results and challenges<br />
Semiletov et al., Geophysical Research Abstracts (2012)<br />
<a href="http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2012/EGU2012-3913.pdf">http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2012/EGU2012-3913.pdf</a><br />
<br />
18. Submarine pingoes: Indicators of shallow gas hydrates in a pockmark at Nyegga, Norwegian Sea.<br />
Hovland et al., Marine Geology 228 (2006) 15–23<br />
<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025322705003968">http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025322705003968</a><br />
<br />
<b>Images references</b><br />
<br />
1. Methane levels, March 19, 2013.<br />
adapted by Sam Carana from NOAA, 2013<br />
<a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">http://www.noaa.gov/</a><br />
<br />
2. Global distribution of atmospheric methane<br />
adapted by Sam Carana from NOAA, May 2006<br />
<a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">http://www.noaa.gov/</a><br />
<br />
3. Methane at up to 2241 ppb at 742 mb on January 23, 2013<br />
from: Dramatic increase in methane in the Arctic in January 2013, by Sam Carana<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/dramatic-increase-in-methane-in-the-arctic-in-january-2013.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/dramatic-increase-in-methane-in-the-arctic-in-january-2013.html</a><br />
<br />
4. IASI methane levels March 1-10, 2013, by Leonid Yurganov, against NSIDC sea ice concentration map March 12, 2013<br />
from: Record methane in the Arctic early March 2013, by Sam Carana<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/03/record-methane-in-arctic-early-march-2013.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/03/record-methane-in-arctic-early-march-2013.html</a><br />
<br />
5. Antarctic glacier, by Jemma Wadham<br />
Potential methane reservoirs beneath Antarctica<br />
Press release University of Bristol (2012)<br />
<div>
<a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8742.html">http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8742.html</a><br />
<br />
6. Conversion table - units of measurement </div>
<div>
Sam Carana (2012)<br />
http://geo-engineering.blogspot.com/2012/6/earth-at-boiling-point.html<br />
<br />
7. Arctic Ocean with predicted deposits of CH4 hydrates shown in blue <br />
On carbon transport and fate in the East Siberian Arctic land–shelf–atmosphere system<br />
Semiletov et al. (2012)<br />
<a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/1/015201">http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/1/015201</a><br />
<br />
8. IPCC has upgraded methane's GWP (global warming potential) several times over the years<br />
from: Video and poster - methane in the Arctic, by Sam Carana (2012)<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/05/video-and-poster-methane-in-arctic.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/05/video-and-poster-methane-in-arctic.html</a><br />
<br />
9. Methane's Global Warming Potential (GWP)<br />
from: Video and poster - methane in the Arctic, by Sam Carana (2012)<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/05/video-and-poster-methane-in-arctic.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/05/video-and-poster-methane-in-arctic.html</a><br />
<br />
10. Methane's Local Warming Potential (LWP)<br />
Sam Carana (2013)<br />
<br />
11. Estimates of Total Antarctic Land Ice Changes<br />
from: Is Antarctica losing or gaining ice?<br />
<a href="http://www.skepticalscience.com/antarctica-gaining-ice.htm">http://www.skepticalscience.com/antarctica-gaining-ice.htm</a></div>
<br />
12. Big changes in Arctic within years<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/10/big-changes-in-arctic-within-years.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/10/big-changes-in-arctic-within-years.html</a><br />
<br />
13. M. G. Flanner et al. (2011), Radiative forcing and albedo feedback from the Northern Hemisphere cryosphere between 1979 and 2008.<br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v4/n3/full/ngeo1062.html">http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v4/n3/full/ngeo1062.html</a><br />
<br />
14. M. G. Flanner et al. (2011), Radiative forcing and albedo feedback from the Northern Hemisphere cryosphere between 1979 and 2008.<br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v4/n3/full/ngeo1062.html">http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v4/n3/full/ngeo1062.html</a><br />
<br />
15. Insolation on the Northern Hemisphere<br />
from: Pidwirny, M. (2006). "Earth-Sun Relationships and Insolation". Fundamentals of Physical Geography, 2nd Edition. <br />
<a href="http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6i.html">physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6i.html</a><br />
<br />
16. Global hydroxyl levels day and night<br />
From: Taraborelli et al (2012), Hydroxyl radical buffered by isoprene oxidation over tropical forests<br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1405.html">http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1405.html</a><br />
<br />
17. Shallow waters in the Arctic Ocean<br />
Image adapted by Sam Carana from NOAA image<br />
<a href="http://ngdc.noaa.gov/">http://ngdc.noaa.gov</a><br />
<br />
18. Shallow waters of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS)<br />
On carbon transport and fate in the East Siberian Arctic land–shelf–atmosphere system<br />
Semiletov et al. (2012)<br />
<a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/1/015201">http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/1/015201</a><br />
<br />
19. Warming of coastal waters - Mean SST on August 22. 2007, in degrees Celsius<br />
Produced by Sam Carana from:<br />
<a href="http://esrl.noaa.gov/">http://esrl.noaa.gov/</a><br />
<br />
20. Submarine pingoes: Indicators of shallow gas hydrates in a pockmark at Nyegga, Norwegian Sea.<br />
Hovland et al., Marine Geology 228 (2006) 15–23<br />
<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025322705003968">http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025322705003968</a><br />
<br />
21. Three kinds of warming and feedbacks<br />
Sam Carana (2012)<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/08/diagram-of-doom.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2012/08/diagram-of-doom.html</a><br />
<br />
22. Abrupt release of 1Gt of methane<br />
Sam Carana (2012), How much time is there left to act<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/how-much-time-is-there-left-to-act.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/how-much-time-is-there-left-to-act.html</a><br />
<br />
23. The accumulating impact of methane releases in the Arctic<br />
Sam Carana (2012), How much time is there left to act<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/how-much-time-is-there-left-to-act.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/how-much-time-is-there-left-to-act.html</a><br />
<br />
24. Global warming, accelerated warming in the Arctic, and runaway global warming<br />
Sam Carana (2013) - see also: How much will temperatures rise?<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-much-will-temperatures-rise.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-much-will-temperatures-rise.html</a><br />
<br />
25. Organic soil carbon content<br />
from: EUR 21855 EN - soil organic carbon European Commission (2011) <a href="http://ies.jrc.ec.europa.eu/uploads/fileadmin/Documentation/JRC-CC-COP17.pdf.pdf">http://ies.jrc.ec.europa.eu/uploads/fileadmin/Documentation/JRC-CC-COP17.pdf.pdf</a><br />
<br />
26. Warming and feedbacks leading to destruction and extinction at massive scale<br />
Sam Carana (2013) - see also: An Effective and Comprehensive Climate Plan<br />
<a href="http://climateplan.blogspot.com/2013/01/an-effective-and-comprehensive-climate-plan.html">http://climateplan.blogspot.com/2013/01/an-effective-and-comprehensive-climate-plan.html</a><br />
<br />
27. Energy feebates<br />
Towards a sustainable economy, by Sam Carana (2011)<br />
<a href="http://feebates.blogspot.com/2011/09/towards-sustainable-economy.html">http://feebates.blogspot.com/2011/09/towards-sustainable-economy.html</a><br />
<br />
28. Feebates in sectors such as agriculture, land use and construction<br />
Towards a sustainable economy, by Sam Carana (2011)<br />
<a href="http://feebates.blogspot.com/2011/09/towards-sustainable-economy.html">http://feebates.blogspot.com/2011/09/towards-sustainable-economy.html</a><br />
<br />
29. Getting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere back to 280ppm<br />
Towards a sustainable economy, by Sam Carana (2011)<br />
<a href="http://feebates.blogspot.com/2011/09/towards-sustainable-economy.html">http://feebates.blogspot.com/2011/09/towards-sustainable-economy.html</a><br />
<br />
30. Diagram of Doom and 3-part action plan<br />
Sam Carana (2013)<br />
<a href="http://climateplan.blogspot.com/">http://climateplan.blogspot.com</a><br />
<br />
31. Arctic Methane Management<br />
Sam Carana (2012)<br />
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/arctic-methane-management.html">http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/arctic-methane-management.html</a><br />
<br />
32. Feebates<br />
Towards a sustainable economy, by Sam Carana (2011)<br />
<a href="http://feebates.blogspot.com/2011/09/towards-sustainable-economy.html">http://feebates.blogspot.com/2011/09/towards-sustainable-economy.html</a></div>
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</div>
<br><br>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D10152700073185161%26set%3Da.10150592349770161%26type%3D3&width=350&show_text=true&height=297&appId" width="350" height="297" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-80427371320666466302012-03-15T05:07:00.000-07:002012-03-21T22:35:29.342-07:00Message to the Survivors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-35971886712596891482012-03-11T20:45:00.000-07:002012-03-11T20:45:13.386-07:00Event: The Case for Emergency Geo-Engineering to save the Arctic from Collapse<br />
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<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: relative;">
<a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/case-for-emergency-geo-engineering-to.html" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;">The Case for Emergency Geo-Engineering to save the Arctic from Collapse</a></h3>
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<div>
<strong style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">An APPCCG Event:</strong><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Case for Emergency Geo-Engineering to save the Arctic from Collapse</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">WHEN: Tuesday, 13th March, 2012, from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm</strong><br />
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">WHERE: Committee Room 8, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA</strong></div>
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Please enter by St. Stephen’s Gate, and allow about 15 minutes to pass through security. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"> </span> </div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
<span style="line-height: 21px;">If you would like to attend this meeting, please contact Neha Sethi at the APPCCG Secretariat on </span><a href="mailto:climatechangegroup@carbonneutral.com" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #5c7b8e; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">climatechangegroup@carbonneutral.com</a><span style="line-height: 21px;"> or tel: +44 (0) 20 7833 6035.</span><br />
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<hr style="line-height: 21px;" />
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You are invited to attend this APPCCG event with the Arctic Methane Emergency Group (AMEG), an NGO founded in October 2011 and supported by world renowned scientists. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
AMEG will set before the APPCCG new evidence that shows that because of rising sea and air temperatures the Arctic is in a state of rapid collapse, with a high probability that the Arctic will be completely ice-free at its summer minimum as early as 2013 and having no sea-ice in the Arctic for six months of the year by 2018-20.</div>
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At the same time, thawing and release of previously frozen methane previously trapped under the Arctic sea bed and in the surrounding tundra, is also increasing alarmingly, a process that will accelerate as the Arctic sea responds to the loss of sea-ice protection. </div>
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Evidence will be presented of what is actually happening in the Arctic, in regard to the reduction of the ice sheet, the rate of methane release and details of the basic driving mechanisms in the form of warming ocean currents and increasing solar absorption in the region.</div>
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The meeting will also focus on the possible ways of halting this process and managing the level of the solar radiation currently reaching the Arctic, and will explore the challenges inherent in applying the technology in one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth.</div>
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<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
<span style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">Panellists will include:</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"> • Peter Wadhams, Professor of Ocean Physics, Cambridge</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"> • John Nissen, Chairman of AMEG</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"> • John Hughes, of AMEG</span><br /><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"> • Stephen Salter, Professor of Engineering Design, Edinburgh</span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 15px;">
Wadhams is authoring the (dire) IPCC report on Polar Ice due out in July and Stephen Salter is working on a geoengineering funnel for Bill Gates. </span></div>
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The panel discussion will be followed by a question and answer session. </div>
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<hr style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group (APPCCG)</span><br />
<a href="http://www.imeche.org/Libraries/Knowledge-Power/Update_from_the_All_Party_Parliamentary_Climate_Change_Group.sflb.ashx" style="color: #771100; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.imeche.org/Libraries/Knowledge-Power/Update_from_the_All_Party_Parliamentary_Climate_Change_Group.sflb.ashx</a><br />
<a href="http://www.carbonneutral.com/page/appccg/" style="background-color: white; color: #771100; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.carbonneutral.com/page/appccg/</a><br />
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For more about the<br />
Arctic Methane Emergency Group,<br />
visit AMEG.me:<br />
<a href="http://ameg.me/" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;">http://ameg.me</a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DErOXFIW8Ds/T1iXqPuSDBI/AAAAAAAACOE/BvDYAulT3EQ/s1600/wadhams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #cc4411; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DErOXFIW8Ds/T1iXqPuSDBI/AAAAAAAACOE/BvDYAulT3EQ/s1600/wadhams.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; position: relative;" /></a></div>
<i style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></i>Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-23032539027852195002012-03-03T21:21:00.000-08:002012-03-03T21:21:06.153-08:00Save the Arctic!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeace-nz/6780849716/" title="Save The Arctic! by Greenpeace New Zealand, on Flickr"><img alt="Save The Arctic!" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6780849716_b7a70af1f6.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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Flickr: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeace-nz/6780849716/">Save the Arctic!</a></div>
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On 24 Feb 2012 seven people including actor Lucy Lawless scaled the 50 meter drill tower on a drillship commissioned by Shell to drill for oil in the Arctic. They occupied the Arctic-bound drillship in port Taranaki, New Zealand, for over 70 hours before being arrested. Below are messages they sent from the rig.
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I’m on one of the oldest drill rigs on the planet and it’s heading to the Arctic. Tell Shell to stop #savetheartic <a href="http://greenpeace.org/savethearctic" style="color: #56b104; font-weight: bold;">greenpeace.org</a> </div>
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by <em class="Creator10787237" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">reallucylawless</em> <span class="Source">via <a href="http://twitter.com/RealLucyLawless/status/172771154333937664" style="color: #56b104; font-weight: bold;">twitter</a></span> <span class="DisplayPostTime"><span class="Posted"><a class="SinglePostLink" href="http://embed.scribblelive.com/Embed/v5.aspx?Id=38318&ThemeId=727" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">February 24 at 6:53 AM</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.4em;">Why? 1. The Arctic is in the crosshairs of Climate Change profiteers. #savethearctic</span></div>
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by <em class="Creator10787237" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">reallucylawless</em> <span class="Source">via <a href="http://twitter.com/RealLucyLawless/status/172772326633521152" style="color: #56b104; font-weight: bold;">twitter</a></span> <span class="DisplayPostTime"><span class="Posted"><a class="SinglePostLink" href="http://embed.scribblelive.com/Embed/v5.aspx?Id=38318&ThemeId=727" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">February 24 at 6:58 AM</a></span></span></div>
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Why? 2. Because a blowout under Arctic ice will make the Gulf of Mexico spill look like a children's party #savethearctic</div>
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by <em class="Creator10787237" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">reallucylawless</em> <span class="Source">via <a href="http://twitter.com/RealLucyLawless/status/172772925085204480" style="color: #56b104; font-weight: bold;">twitter</a></span> <span class="DisplayPostTime"><span class="Posted"><a class="SinglePostLink" href="http://embed.scribblelive.com/Embed/v5.aspx?Id=38318&ThemeId=727" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">February 24 at 7:00 AM</a></span></span></div>
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Why?3. Because We have the technology and knowledge to change the course of runaway climate change. We owe it to our kids #savethearctic</div>
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by <em class="Creator10787237" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">reallucylawless</em> <span class="Source">via <a href="http://twitter.com/RealLucyLawless/status/172774057589227520" style="color: #56b104; font-weight: bold;">twitter</a></span> <span class="DisplayPostTime"><span class="Posted"><a class="SinglePostLink" href="http://embed.scribblelive.com/Embed/v5.aspx?Id=38318&ThemeId=727" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">February 24 at 7:05 AM</a></span></span></div>
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Fossil fuels will darken our future. Only renewable energy will enhance it. We owe it to our kids to fight for clean energy!</div>
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by <em class="Creator10787237" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">reallucylawless</em> <span class="Source">via <a href="http://twitter.com/RealLucyLawless/status/174236639311306752" style="color: #56b104; font-weight: bold;">twitter</a></span> <span class="DisplayPostTime"><span class="Posted"><a class="SinglePostLink" href="http://embed.scribblelive.com/Embed/v5.aspx?Id=38318&Page=3&ThemeId=727" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">February 28 at 7:57 AM</a></span></span></div>
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Youtube: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTQkuInBf_w">Four days of action in defence of the Arctic</a></div>Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-77682659687719379432012-03-03T19:35:00.000-08:002012-06-30T22:29:32.060-07:00Large areas of open ocean starved of oxygen“The water is getting warmer, and warm water holds substantially less oxygen than cold water . . . Off southern California over the past 22 years we’ve lost about 30% of the oxygen at depths of around 200 to 300 metres,” said Professor Lisa Levin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.
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Deep-water temperature gauges off Spitsbergen in the Arctic and in the Southern Ocean near the Antarctic have recorded temperature increases of between 0.03<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">°</span><span style="background-color: white;">C and 0.5</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">°</span><span style="background-color: white;">C, and as much as 1</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">°</span><span style="background-color: white;">C, which is highly significant for a stable environment that does not change at all from one century to the next, she said.</span><br />
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“Those are significant numbers. The warming is more intense at the sea surface but it reaching the deep water,” Professor Levin said.
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Above from: <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/large-areas-of-open-ocean-starved-of-oxygen-7278926.html" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">Report by Steve Conner in the Independent, February 21, 2012</a>.
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<br />
<br />
<b><i>Why oxygen depletion is a problem</i></b><br />
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The above report is particularly relevant in regard to methane hydrates, as illustrated by the text below, which is partly from: <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/oxygenating-arctic.htm" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">Oxygenating the Arctic</a>, by Sam Carana. <br />
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When methane is released from hydrates in underwater sediments, much of it can still be oxidized in the water. This would not be the case for large releases of methane, which would cause oxygen depletion, resulting in much of the methane entering the atmosphere. Furthermore, global warming makes the situation worse, as warmer water holds substantially less oxygen.
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A <a href="http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2011/05/04/methane-arctic/" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">two-part study</a> by Berkeley Lab and Los Alamos National Laboratory shows that, as global temperature increases and oceans warm, methane releases from clathrates would over time cause depletion of oxygen, nutrients, and trace metals needed by methane-eating microbes, resulting in ever more methane escaping into the air unchanged, to further accelerate climate change.
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2011/05/04/methane-arctic/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fNa6Y7cjD3k/T1Lbfdb2fBI/AAAAAAAACN8/AFfEsnRy3sc/s1600/17454768684561.jpg" /></a></div>
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In many ways, global warming sets the scene for catastrophic releases of methane in the Arctic. To avoid such scenarios, or even more worrying scenarios in the Arctic, it may be helpful to artificially add oxygen to the water. This has been done before, e.g. <a href="https://www.soils.org/publications/jeq/articles/30/2/387" style="background-color: white; color: #0867ab; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">in lakes in Finland</a>.<br />
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<br />
<b><i>Oxygenating the Arctic</i></b><br />
<br />
On the one hand, oxygenating Arctic waters seems beneficial, as this could enhance oxidation of methane in the water. Also, oxygen bubbles could form an insulating layer in between an ice-cap and warming water underneath the cap. Thirdly, bubbles could brighten the water, changing albedo and reflect more sunlight back into space. Where oxygen enters the atmosphere, this may help with the formation of hydroxyl and subsequent oxidation of atmospheric methane. <br />
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On the other hand, though, some processes could be counter-productive. As an example, bubbles could disturb a hydrate and accelerate release of methane. Rising bubbles could take more methane along upwards than they help oxidize. Experience in Finland shows that adding oxygen could also increase concentrations of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas with tremendous global warming potential. Also, producing oxygen locally through electrolysis could result in the release of hydrogen that could bind with oxygen or result in hydroxyl and stratospheric ozone depletion. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--qdOGXPWoaA/T-5tbMONNHI/AAAAAAAADN4/wevfLJBBVMU/s1600/4325675435533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--qdOGXPWoaA/T-5tbMONNHI/AAAAAAAADN4/wevfLJBBVMU/s320/4325675435533.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">From: Nutrient reductions through </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">engineering approaches, 2009</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white;">Tests are therefore recommended, in order to research what kind of impacts and side-effects can be expected. Proposals have been around for years to ventilate bottom waters by stimulating mixing with waters from mid- or upper-levels, as depicted in the above image from a </span><a href="http://www.havsmiljoinstitutet.se/digitalAssets/1314/1314384_conley-helcom-ministers-meeting-aug-2010.pdf" style="background-color: white;">study by Daniel Conley</a><span style="background-color: white;">, or by adding air to the waters locally.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>Transporting oxygen to the Arctic</i></b></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://windpower.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474980115513" style="background-color: white; color: #0867ab; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img align="right" alt="Offshore Wind Turbines on Floating Bases" border="0" height="125" src="http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg46/SamCarana/14376978563850border.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://windpower.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474980115513">Wind turbines on <br />floating bases</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Producing large amounts of oxygen from water locally may result in large amounts of surplus hydrogen, for which there is may not be enough local demand to make this process economic. This wouldn't be such a problem when producing the oxygen at lower latitudes. </span><a href="http://windpower.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474980115513" style="background-color: white; color: #0867ab; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">Wind turbines on bases</a><span style="background-color: white;">, floating offshore the coast of, say, California, New York or the U.K., could supply electricity for use on land during the day, while at night powering electrolysis of seawater (possibly preceded by distillation), to produce oxygen and hydrogen.</span><br />
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The hydrogen could then be used to power transportation, in particular shipping, since the oxygen would be transported by ship, either liquefied or as compressed gas, to the Arctic. On arrival, a hose could be lowered from the ship into the water to release oxygen, or - in another application - a balloon could be launched, raising a hose to the desired height, and oxygen could be pumped up the hose for release into the atmosphere, in efforts to oxidize methane in the atmosphere.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://geoengineering.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964977" style="background-color: white; color: #0867ab; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img align="left" alt="Space Hose" border="0" height="211" src="http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg46/SamCarana/52476969843563851.jpg" style="border-style: none; position: relative;" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://geoengineering.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964977">Space Hose</a></td></tr>
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If wanted, the same hose could also be used to <a href="http://geoengineering.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964977" style="background-color: white; color: #0867ab; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">release aerosols into the atmosphere</a>, in further efforts to keep the Arctic from overheating. Finally, such hoses could carry devices to monitor composition of water and atmosphere, temperatures, currents and winds at various altitudes, etc. <br />
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Funding for the project could be provided in part by the electricity sold by the offshore turbines. To further fund the project, fees could be imposed on international shipping and aviation, e.g. on departures from U.S. seaports or airports, or on bunker fuel and jet fuel taken on board such ships or airplanes. The revenues of these fees could be used partly to fund the Arctic oxygenation project, and partly to fund rebates on hydrogen that is produced at the floating bases and sold to ships anchoring there. Such feebates could also satisfy calls by the European Union for <a href="http://sustainable.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474980735894" style="background-color: white; color: #0867ab; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">airlines to join in with action on climate change</a>. <br />
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Alternatively, such feebates could be imposed on international shipping only. Other types of feebates could then be imposed on international aviation, e.g. <a href="http://knol.google.com/k/funding-of-carbon-air-capture" style="background-color: white; color: #0867ab; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">to fund air capture of carbon dioxide and the production of biofuel either in algae bags</a> or as a result of <a href="http://global-warming.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977155102" style="background-color: white; color: #0867ab; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">pyrolysis of organic waste</a>. More generally, <a href="http://knol.google.com/k/feebates" style="background-color: white; color: #0867ab; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">feebates</a> are the most effective way to facilitate the shift <a href="http://sustainable-economy.blogspot.com/2011/09/towards-sustainable-economy.html" style="background-color: white; color: #0867ab; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">towards a sustainable economy</a>.<br />
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<b><i>Another approach: diatoms</i></b><br />
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Another approach is suggested by <a href="http://nualgi.com/">Nualgi.com</a> who propose to add iron and other trace metals/micro nutrients to the water in order to stimulate growth of a specific type of phytoplankton called diatom<span style="background-color: white;"> algae, which through photosynthesis absorb carbon dioxide in the water and add oxygen. The oxygen is then used by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanotroph">methanotroph bacteria</a> to oxidize methane. </span><br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><span style="background-color: white;">The image below pictures a range of Arctic geoengineering methods that could be used as part of a </span><a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/comprehensive-plan-of-action.html">comprehensive plan of action</a><span style="background-color: white;"> to deal with climate change. </span><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KRAE_bxfH6qxz92qPn2wGVZXHqyQdQzdo7uAE_eHgeA?feat=directlink" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ytRrcmc5AB0/T-_eefWJa7I/AAAAAAAADPc/TdrDrgoGJ3E/s1600/Arctic+geoengineering+version+3+-+650.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i>(click on image to enlarge)</i></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-89981636823138652052012-03-03T01:14:00.001-08:002012-03-03T19:36:26.212-08:00Japan starts drilling methane hydrateThe Japanese vessel Chikyu started drilling in waters about 1000 meters deep, some 70 to 80 kilometers off the Japanese coast in February 2012. The vessel will dig about 260 meters or more below the seabed to reach the methane hydrate.<br />
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The drilling is part of a two-year program commissioned by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for testing and data collection. Continuous production of methane is planned over several weeks in January to March 2013.<br />
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<a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120216a3.html">http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120216a3.html</a>
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<a href="http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T120214006290.htm">http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T120214006290.htm</a>
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<a href="http://www.shimbun.denki.or.jp/en/news/20120207_01.html">http://www.shimbun.denki.or.jp/en/news/20120207_01.html</a>Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1641696877572843922.post-16828317866586504952012-02-22T17:37:00.002-08:002012-03-04T04:45:01.922-08:00Welcome!Welcome to the Methane Hydrates blog. If you have any questions, feel invited to post a comment. Selected questions will be included in the Frequently Asked Questions page (see menu above).Sam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.com0