Scary Siberian Craters

[EdEarl]

 

 

thinkprogress.org

 

A survey of 41 permafrost scientists in 2011 estimated that if human fossil-fuel use remained on a high projection and the planet warmed significantly, gases from permafrost could eventually equal 35 percent of present day annual emissions. In the few years since then, emissions have continued to rise. If emissions are heavily curtailed, greenhouse gases from permafrost could make up as little as around the equivalent of 10 percent of today’s human-caused emissions. This is far lower, but still highly disconcerting.

 

“Even if it’s 5 or 10 percent of today’s emissions, it’s exceptionally worrying, and 30 percent is humongous,” Josep G. Canadell, a scientist in Australia who runs a global program to monitor greenhouse gases, told the New York Times at the time of the study. “It will be a chronic source of emissions that will last hundreds of years.”

No one knows what caused these craters, but Russian scientists are studying them. If they are caused by the release of underground methane hydrate and the amount yet frozen is large, we could see worldwide temperatures rise very quickly.

[Essay]

...I was just reading this myself, via FB, and I notice the link says:

 

"Russian scientists sent to the site are now providing first-hand data showing that unusually high concentrations of methane of up to 9.6 percent were present at the bottom of the first large crater shortly after it was discovered on July 16. Andrei Plekhanov, an archaeologist at the Scientific Centre of Arctic Studies in Salekhard, Russia, who led an expedition to the crater, told The Journal Nature that air normally contains just 0.000179 percent methane."

 

That's roughly a hundred thousand-fold difference, over five orders of magnitude more methane, isn't it?

===

 

p.s. Is there a name for these 'dimples' ...caused by the methane 'burps,' which seem to appear in the aerial photo accompanying your link above?

 

Burples?

 

...and that is ocean and ice, rather than blue sky and clouds, in the upper part of that picture ...beyond the beach; right?

Edited August 2, 2014 by Essay

[EdEarl]

Yes five orders, and yes it appears to be ocean and ice.

[studiot]

Interesting, here's more

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2711806/Has-mystery-Siberian-craters-finally-solved-Scientist-claims-created-SINKHOLES-erupted-outwards.html

[Moontanman]

I wonder how close we are at my latitude to a year with out a winter...