Since the area of geological disjunctives (fault zones, tectonically and seismically active areas) within the Siberian Arctic shelf composes not less than 1 - 2 % of the total area and area of open taliks (area of melt through permafrost), acting as a pathway for methane escape within the Siberian Arctic shelf reaches up to 5 - 10 % of the total area, we consider release of up to 50 Gt of predicted amount of hydrate storage as highly possible for abrupt release at any time. (realclimate.org)
Shakhova's team said one gigaton of methane now escapes annually from the sediments, largely through a growing network of crevices known as taliks in the Arctic permafrost. (scientificamerican.com)
Especially worrying is the observation that up to 10 percent of this area is now being punctured by so - called taliks areas of thawed permafrost that provide avenues for the ready escape of methane and opportunities for warmth to penetrate deep into the frozen hydrate beneath. (scripps.ucsd.edu)