Sentences with phrase «ocean methane sources»

One thing I note is the relative lack of disambiguation between deep ocean methane sources and surface permafrost methane sources.

Not exact matches

Our goal was to fingerprint the source of methane in the Arctic Ocean to determine if ancient methane was being liberated from the seafloor and if it survives to be emitted to the atmosphere,» says Sparrow, who conducted the study, published in Science Advances, as part of her doctoral research at the University of Rochester.

By employing a technique they developed that involves collecting methane from roughly ten thousand gallons of seawater per sample, they made a surprising discovery: ancient - sourced methane is indeed being released into the ocean; but very little survives to be emitted to the atmosphere, even at surprisingly shallow depths.

«Mysterious source of greenhouse gas methane in ocean explained.»

Ellen Damm, together with Dr Dorothea Bauch from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel and other colleagues, analysed the samples to determine the regional levels of methane, and the sources.

Even where methane increases are observed at the ocean surface, scientists need better data to determine whether emissions come from hydrates or other seafloor sources.

«Researchers establish long - sought source of ocean methane: An abundant enzyme in marine microbes may be responsible for production of the greenhouse gas.»

They believe that this compound is likely the source of methane gas being released into the atmosphere above the ocean.

At issue is whether the shallow ocean shelf that makes up the seafloor, originally composed of submerged permafrost, is now a significant source of emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

[Response: The concentration of methane in seawater can be measured, and I think the ocean is very often a source to the atmosphere, rather than a sink.

Shakhova et al (2010) reports that the continental shelf of East Central Siberia (ECS), with an area of over 2 million km2, is emitting more methane than all other ocean sources combined.

Recent research suggests that the Earth's oceans are a potentially important new source of Arctic methane.

Marshes, wetlands and peat bogs account for the greatest source of naturally produced methane, with unknown quantities locked in the soil of permafrost and the ocean floor that may be released as world temperatures rise.

[Response: The concentration of methane in seawater can be measured, and I think the ocean is very often a source to the atmosphere, rather than a sink.

• The methanetrack.org website has shown significant increases in atmospheric methane concentrations over Antarctica this austral winter (which I believe are due to increases in methane emissions from the Southern Ocean seafloor due to increases in the temperature of bottom water temperatures), and if this trend continues, then the Southern Hemisphere could be a significant source of additional atmospheric methane (this century).

Methane leaks from the oceans and many other sources.

It would seem to be required that very drastic warming of the deep ocean is the only way that this source of Methane would be released and trigger a «runaway» greenhouse warming.

A lot of reseach energy is being devoted to the study of Methane Clathrates — a huge source of greenhouse gases which could be released from the ocean if the thermocline (the buoyant stable layer of warm water which overlies the near - freezing deep ocean) dropped in depth considerably (due to GHG warming), or especially if the deep ocean waters were warmed by very, very extreme changes from the current climate, such that deep water temperatures no longer hovered within 4C of freezing, but warmed to something like 18C.

More importantly, the atmospheric methane flux from the Arctic Ocean is really small (extrapolating estimates from Kort et al 2012), even compared with emissions from the Arctic land surface, which is itself only a few percent of global emissions (dominated by human sources and tropical wetlands).

He added that the European Union had canceled a project monitoring methane that was particularly valuable because it could distinguish between emissions from terrestrial bogs, gas fields and the like and ocean sources.

Shakhova's research results show that the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is already a significant methane source, releasing 7 teragrams of methane yearly, which is as much as is emitted from the rest of the ocean.

Shakhova et al (2010) reports that the continental shelf of East Central Siberia (ECS), with an area of over 2 million km2, is emitting more methane than all other ocean sources combined.

An even more worrying potential source of greenhouse gases is the methane in the seabed of the Arctic Ocean, notably off the coast of Siberia.

Methane hydrate in ocean seabed sediments is a potential source of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere, where CH4 has potential to act as a powerful greenhouMethane hydrate in ocean seabed sediments is a potential source of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere, where CH4 has potential to act as a powerful greenhoumethane (CH4) to the atmosphere, where CH4 has potential to act as a powerful greenhouse gas.

This presupposes that all of the atmospheric CO2 increase is of anthropogenic origin without regard to increases from non-anthropogenic sources such as changes in phytoplankton, volcanic eruptions, breakdown of methane emissions, deep ocean turnover, etc..

Another vast source of methane is in icy deposits known as methane hydrates, often in sediments deep under the world's oceans.

In fact, only one source of carbon that is isotopically light and available in large enough quantities has been pinpointed so far, this is the reservoir of methane hydrate deposits (Figure 2) buried on the continental shelves of the oceans (Figure 3).

Methane (from continental and ocean clathrates as well as conventional sources) and liquifaction of coal appear to be the front runners as a bridge (which may be a very short bridge) to the ultimate safe renewable energy source which is sunshine.

the atmospheric methane flux from the Arctic Ocean is really small (extrapolating estimates from Kort et al 2012), even compared with emissions from the Arctic land surface, which is itself only a few percent of global emissions (dominated by human sources and tropical wetlands).

In fact, we're already starting to see rising natural emissions of GHGs from natural sources in the form of CO2 and CH4 from thawing permafrost and methane clathrates, and a reduction in the ability of the ocean to absorb CO2.

RealClimate is wonderful, and an excellent source of reliable information.As I've said before, methane is an extremely dangerous component to global warming.Comment # 20 is correct.There is a sharp melting point to frozen methane.A huge increase in the release of methane could happen within the next 50 years.At what point in the Earth's temperature rise and the rise of co2 would a huge methane melt occur?No one has answered that definitive issue.If I ask you all at what point would huge amounts of extra methane start melting, i.e at what temperature rise of the ocean near the Artic methane ice deposits would the methane melt, or at what point in the rise of co2 concentrations in the atmosphere would the methane melt, I believe that no one could currently tell me the actual answer as to where the sharp melting point exists.Of course, once that tipping point has been reached, and billions of tons of methane outgass from what had been locked stores of methane, locked away for an eternity, it is exactly the same as the burning of stored fossil fuels which have been stored for an eternity as well.And even though methane does not have as long a life as co2, while it is around in the air it can cause other tipping points, i.e. permafrost melting, to arrive much sooner.I will reiterate what I've said before on this and other sites.Methane is a hugely underreported, underestimated risk.How about RealClimate attempts to model exactly what would happen to other tipping points, such as the melting permafrost, if indeed a huge increase in the melting of the methal hydrate ice WERE to occur within the next 50 years.My amateur guess is that the huge, albeit temporary, increase in methane over even three or four decades might push other relevent tipping points to arrive much, much, sooner than they normally would, thereby vastly incresing negative feedback mechanisms.We KNOW that quick, huge, changes occured in the Earth's climate in the past.See other relevent posts in the past from Realclimate.Climate often does not change slowly, but undergoes huge, quick, changes periodically, due to negative feedbacks accumulating, and tipping the climate to a quick change.Why should the danger from huge potential methane releases be vievwed with any less trepidation?

The Siberian Margin might rival the whole rest of the world ocean as a methane source, but the ocean source overall is much smaller than the land source.

The ocean is small potatoes, and there is enough uncertainty in the methane budget to accommodate adjustments in the sources without too much overturning of apple carts.

To help address global climate change problem, the city would send carbon contamination from power plants and other area based sources down to the ocean depths, where microorganisms would convert into methane gas.