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Large amounts of greenhouse gases were detected at a depth of 350 meters in the Laptev Sea, near Russia.
Researchers worry that this could accelerate global warming.
Sediments on the slopes of the Arctic contain large amounts of frozen methane and other gases called hydrates.
According to The Guardian, the warming effect of methane over the past 20 years has been 80 times stronger than that of carbon dioxide.
AFP / Scanpix Photo / Factory Smoke
The United States Geological Survey has previously identified the destabilization of Arctic hydrates as one of the four most severe possible sudden climate change scenarios.
AFP / Photo by Scanpix / In Alaska, erosion begins to erode as permafrost melts
Representatives of the international team working on the Russian research ship Akademikas Keldyš say that most of the gas bubbles are dissolving in the water.
However, the level of methane on the surface is four to eight times higher than normal, rushing into the atmosphere.
“Currently, it is unlikely that there will be a significant impact on global warming. But the bottom line is that this process has been activated. This methane hydrate system on the eastern slope of Siberia has been interrupted and will continue,” according to the Guardian article, Orjan Gustafsson, a Swedish scientist at Stockholm University, works on the ship “Academician Keldyš”.
Reuters / Photo by Scanpix / Disappearing Arctic Ice
With temperatures in the Arctic rising more than twice as fast as the world average, the question of when – or even if – methane gas will escape into the atmosphere has become a question of considerable uncertainty.
The crew of the 60-person ship Akademikas Keldyšas believe they are the first to be able to confirm by monitoring that methane emissions are already occurring over a large area.
Photo by Scanpix / RIA Novosti / Polar bears melting into glaciers
At six observation points, 150 km long and 10 km wide, the scientists saw clouds of bubbles released from the sediment.
According to The Guardian, scientists have found methane concentrations of up to 1,600 nanomoles per liter at a depth of about 300 meters in part of the Laptev Sea.
This is 400 times the concentration that would be expected if there were an equilibrium between methane in the sea and the atmosphere.
Scanpix / AP Photo / Melting Arctic Landscapes
Igor Semiletov, chief scientist of the research ship “Academician Keldysh” and representative of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that methane emissions were much higher than ever.
“The discovery of active release hydrates is very important and was unknown until now. This is a new page. Perhaps this could have serious consequences for the climate. But more research is needed to confirm this, “he said.
The most likely reason for this process is the invasion of warm currents from the Atlantic to the eastern Arctic.
This “Atlantisation” is the result of man-made climate change, according to a Guardian article.
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