A methane leak from the Antarctic seabed has been identified, causing alarm among climatologists and conservationists.
Methane is an extremely powerful greenhouse gas that traps almost 30 times more heat than the same amount of carbon dioxide.
The methane stream coming 30 feet below the surface and into the ocean is “incredibly concerning,” scientists say, as it will accelerate ocean warming.
Scroll down to watch the video
A methane leak from the Antarctic seabed has been identified, causing alarm among climatologists and conservationists. The methane-feeding microbes, which took five years to adapt to consume the gas, can be seen at the 10-foot-long site as white mats (pictured)
The Antarctic seabed is known to be a source of an enormous amount of methane, but has never before been seen seeping into the ocean.
Ancient algae deposits are believed to be the original source of the methane trapped below the sediments.
Researchers who had previously speculated about this event expected the methane-eating microbes in the water to feast on the gas and limit emissions.
However, the latest investigation, documenting the leak, also found that these microorganisms avoided gas for more than five years.
This is another dark omen for climate change, as the rate at which these microbes adapt to absorb gas could be critical in limiting warming.
Due to the delay in microbial colonization, it is almost inevitable that methane has been released into the atmosphere, scientists believe.
Divers have frequented the Cinder Cones leak site at McMurdo Sound (pictured) since the 1960s, and a 2011 visitor first detected the spontaneously occurring leak.
In 2017, Earth’s atmosphere absorbed almost 600 million tons of methane, the colorless, odorless gas that is one of the most powerful pollutants (pictured). Natural sources absorbed most of this, but there was a positive net methane production of around 16 million tons.
Methane traps almost 30 times more heat than the same amount of carbon dioxide, and more than half of all methane emissions now come from human activities. Carbon emissions fell dramatically during the coronavirus blockade, but experts say “there is a possibility” that there will be such a significant decrease for methane as well.
‘The delay [in methane consumption] it’s the most important finding, “lead author Andrew Thurber of Oregon State University in the United States told The Guardian.
‘It is not good news. It took more than five years for the microbes to begin to appear and even then there was still methane rapidly escaping from the seabed. ”
Microbes can now be seen on the site 10 feet long and appear as white mats on the sea floor.
It is unknown what caused the gas to break the seafloor, but it is believed that it is not due to heating of the water in the ocean above it, because the Ross Sea, where the leak was found, has not yet heated significantly. .
The leak is also on the side of a marine volcano, but this appears to be a coincidence and not the cause of the leak.
Divers have frequented the leak site at Cinder Cones in McMurdo Sound since the 1960s, and a visit in 2011 first detected the leak that had spontaneously appeared.
But due to the inaccessibility of the region, it took scientists until 2016 to study the leak and another four more years to research and publish this scientific paper.
During this 2016 expedition, a second leak was also found.
Research is beginning to focus more on methane and its impact on global warming, due to its high potency.
Carbon remains the most alarming anthropogenic greenhouse gas, due to the large amount in the atmosphere, but methane is becoming an increasing concern because it is much more impactful in comparable terms.
However, while much is known about the carbon cycle, little is understood about the global life cycle of methane, making it difficult to control and limit it.
Recent research attempted to produce the first truly comprehensive estimate of man-made methane emissions.
Researchers from Stanford University and the Global Carbon Project evaluated emissions from 2010 to 2017, full data was available last year.
This revealed that methane levels have increased in recent years and the atmospheric concentration of the gas has reached a record level.
Scientists say various human activities are to blame for high levels, including coal mining; oil and gas production; cattle and sheep farming; and landfills.
He discovered that in 2017 the Earth’s atmosphere absorbed almost 600 million tons of the colorless, odorless gas which is one of the most powerful pollutants.
Annual methane emissions have increased about nine percent, equivalent to 50 million tons per year, since the early 2000s, new data shows.
This, scientists say, is roughly the same as putting 350 million more cars on the world’s roads or doubling the total emissions of Germany or France.
Professor Rob Jackson, who led the study, said: “We have not yet turned the methane around.”
Globally, there are two main engines of methane emissions in the world, fossil fuels and agriculture, as the latest figures show.
The research found that there was a positive net production of around 16 million tons, but most climate models, including this one, do not take into account the delayed microbial consumption of escaping methane.
The findings of the latest study are available in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
.
