Thursday, 1 June 2017

Retreating Ice Sheet Spurred Massive Methane Blowouts on the Seafloor

Discover Magazine
Retreating Ice Sheet Spurred Massive Methane Blowouts on the Seafloor
A massive reserve of methane — a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide — is trapped deep within the seafloor. In northern latitudes, thick ice sheets act as a lid sequestering gases at the right temperature and pressure. But when that ice melts, it’s akin to popping a cork on a pressurized bottle of champagne, rapidly releasing large volumes of the pent-up gas. For proof that warmer conditions can spur violent belches, a team of scientists based in Norway looked to the Barents

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