Fears mount as Arctic melt prompts historic methane rise

[phantom power]

A global study in Geophysical Research Letters found the first increase in methane levels this century — by about 28 million tonnes since mid-2006 — was in part due to release of gas in and near the Arctic.

CSIRO senior climate scientist Paul Fraser said the data was in line with predictions that rapid melting of Arctic ice would create natural wetlands, one of the most common methane emitters. "This is not good news for global warming," he said.

...

"Over the past year, the total sources have overwhelmed the total sinks and methane has started to rise," he said.

Methane is estimated to be responsible for about 20% of global warming since the Industrial Revolution.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/fears-mount-as-arctic-melt-prompts-historic-methane-rise-20081102-5gat.html

[NNadir]

1. The original paper can be accessed at this link:

http://www.agu.org/contents/journals/ViewPapersInPress.do?journalCode=GL

I have downloaded it, but have to time to read it or comment on it right now.

[hatrack]

2. Oops.

Not surprised, but not too much more to say, except perhaps for this:

"We could have saved it, but we were too damned cheap and lazy." - Kurt Vonnegut

[phantom power]

3. Buffers work great, until they fill up.

[hatrack]

4. Kind of like the ocean, huh?

:eyes:

[phantom power]

6. I prefer not to think about it. But yes. Oh god, yes.

[Titanothere]

5. So wetlands contribute to global warming? Nice.

[NNadir]

7. It depends on the attainment of equilibrium.

Wetlands where new decomposing matter is obtained - as will certainly be true in defrosted tundra, are very different than wetlands that have been in an equilibrium for eons.

Nothing is quite so simple as saying "bad" and "good."

The destruction of the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland, to make ethanol farms for the Brazilian car CULTure are obviously a GHG loser.

[DCKit]

8. Mommy, why is the sky on fire? n/t

[phantom power]

9. It will be more like...

[Delphinus]

10. God, what a heartbreaking picture.

:cry: