Arctic Seafloor Methane Releases Double Previous Estimates

The seafloor off the coast of Northern Serbia is now realeasing twice as much methane gas as previously estimated. Currently it is releasing about 17 teragrams of methane into the atmosphere each year. A teragram is equal to 1 millon tons. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. As long as the subsea permafrost stays frozen, the methane gas will stay trapped beneath the surface, but the ice is starting to melt in some areas. As the climate warms more and more gas will be let out and the gas will cause the climate to warm even more. Methane traps heat and is a very important factor in global climate change.

Methane burns as it escapes through a hole in the ice in a lagoon above the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. (Credit: Photo courtesy of Natalia Shakhova)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131125172113.htm