Arctic Ocean Leaking Methane At Alarming Rate

Disclaimer: I want to add this disclaimer to cover any posts here regarding Methane feedback. I absolutely DO NOT support the geoengineering of our atmosphere through spraying of chemicals as a solution to climate destruction. This could well tip our atmosphere even further with unknown consequences. ANY references to it on ANY sources I link to here are not supported by me. I have added certain sources simply to illustrate and inform regarding the real concern we must have with methane feedback- which can be addressed though initiatives to decrease of CO2/methane emissions such as a ban on fracking as well as through sustainable agriculture, afforestation, renewable energy and financial incentives not tied to markets but that hold markets accountable. Thank you. December 8:

Living On Earth: Worrisome Arctic Ocean Methane leaks





Arctic Ocean Leaking Methane At Alarming Rate

A new study in the journal Nature shows that the Arctic Ocean is releasing methane at a rate more than twice what scientific models had previously anticipated. Methane’s effect on global warming is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

By WESTON MORROW

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Ounce for ounce, methane has an effect on global warming more than 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and it’s leaking from the Arctic Ocean at an alarming rate, according to new research by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Their article, which appeared Sunday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Geoscience, states that the Arctic Ocean is releasing methane at a rate more than twice what scientific models had previously anticipated.

Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov at the university’s International Arctic Research Center have spent more than a decade researching the Arctic’s greenhouse-gas emissions, along with scientists from Russia, Europe and the Lower 48.

Shakhova, the lead author of the most recent report, said the methane release rate likely is even greater than their paper describes.

“We decided to be as conservative as possible,” Shakhova said. “We’re actually talking the top of the iceberg.”

The researchers worked along the continental shelf off the northern coast of eastern Russia — the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, which is underlain by sub-sea permafrost.

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May I also add that this is twice what the US EPA has stated is being emitted. Of course, since the Obama administration is backing fracking I did not find it surprising. However, we must understand that this present danger supercedes their political agenda.

Right now the Earth is heading to a place we have never been and really do not want to go. Abrupt climate change due to methane feedback would catapult us into a world where climate change fast forwards to effects we would normally not feel or see for at least 35 years. Meaning, what we would expect to see by 2045 is happening now. This is not something we have planned for and it is not something we are ready for.

It is then something we must absolutely be concerned about and address. The rate of melting in the Arctic shows it is warming three times faster than the rest of our globe. Storms in the Arctic show us the effects of this as does our wavier jet stream and extreme events taking place because of it. The Arctic Ocean is also becoming more acidic. How many more years do we have to bow to the whims of skeptics and media/political minions of the fossil fuel industry in beating around this bush? Doing so is sealing our fate.

Is it really because we as humans simply cannot admit that we as a whole are capable of screwing up our planet so completely? That we cannot admit that we need to curb our rapacious consumption and selfish pleasures to put the planet that gives us sustenance first? That we cannot admit we are blinded by being obsessed by what we "want" over what we need? Make no mistake about it, what is now occurring in the Arctic is a direct result of our arrogance and hubris. We need to understand this and we need to also understand that this new territory we are entering requires great courage to navigate.

Dispute and deny abrupt climate change all you wish. However, it does nothing to change the reality of our situation and the present and future we face if we continue to think these events are just chance. I would also say to certain organizations that while CO2 is the main radiative forcing in AGW we need to also be concerned about this and address it. To continue to concentrate only on CO2 without bringing forth this most urgent facet of the picture regarding abrupt methane feedback is to also hide the whole truth.

We have no more time for agendas on ANY side. This is about our survival.





Also see:

Greenhouse Gas Concentrations In Atmosphere Reach New Record

Arctic Storms, Warming Mean More Methane Released

Methane Emissions "Through The Roof" As Arctic Melts Faster Than Predicted

Methane Feedback And Abrupt Climate Change: How Far Are We From It?

Methane Feedback And Abrupt Climate Change-cont.

Ocean Acidification Poised To Radically Affect Arctic

And yet, all politicians see are the "economic opportunities."

Pray tell, what OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU HAVE WITHOUT A HABITABLE PLANET?

Arctic Strategy Sets Off Climate Timebomb