High latitude warming appears to have begun releasing frozen methane. The coming summer may tell. If the process has begun, it will continue contributing to global warming for centuries after we terminate our CO2 emissions.
Originally posted on robertscribbler:
(Siberian methane crater locations. In total, 7 methane blow holes with features similar to the Yamal Crater have now been discovered. Unofficial reports from observers on the ground have local scientists placing the likely count now at between 20-30 original craters with many more secondary craters. Image source: The Daily Mail.)
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The ground smoked for hours. Then, with a great flash and an enormous boom, the land exploded. When the smoke cleared, all that was left was a great, black hole. Ejected earth lay scattered around it — sheer sides plunging into the permafrost like some gigantic, gaping gun barrel.
This was the scene last summer in Yamal, Siberia — a region of extreme northern Russia.
Mysterious Holes Emitting Methane Gas
Speculation about the cause of this mysterious hole became rampant. It looked like a sink hole, except for the ejected material surrounding it…
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