Massive new source for leaky methane -based emissions discovered

These frozen bubbles from Methaneas are incredibly beautiful, but don't let the appearances deceive. Methane is a strong greenhouse gas that is often overshadowed by carbon dioxide in discussions about climate change, although the effects of methane are far more serious.

The effects of industrial pollution, car emissions, deforestation and agriculture are usually of central importance if we look at the forces that drive climate change.

However, researchers have now uncovered an unexpected and significant source of methane emissions that are hidden under the icy landscapes of the Arctic.

Methan is an effective climate protection driver

With the greenhouse gas of the power package, methane does not get as much attention as carbon dioxide. However, it is much more effective – about 80 – more effective when capturing heat in the atmosphere for over 20 years.

Methane comes from natural sources such as wetlands and termites, but human activities switch emissions great.

Livestock, landfill and oil and gas operations fill massive amounts of methane into the air. Cows, for example, publish methane if you digest the food (Yep, cowburps are a real climate problem).

In the meantime, leaks from the extraction and pipelines from fossil fuels quiet methane into the atmosphere, which makes the problem even worse.

The problem? Methane does not stay as long as CO₂ – only about 12 years – but in this short time it hurts serious damage.

Cutting methane emissions could quickly slow global warming, which makes it one of the fastest ways to combat climate change.

Investigation of methane leaks of glaciers

Gabrielle Kleber and Leonard Magerl, postdoctoral researcher from Uit, IC3 of the Arctic University of Norway (Center for Ice, Cryosphere, Carbon and Climate) have discovered that arctic glaciers are not as innocent as they like.

Under their icy veneer, these glaciers have significant amounts of methane into the atmosphere.

This revelation comes from studies carried out in Vallåkrabreen, a small Valley glacier that is located in the central Svalbard.

Glacier and methapiegel

The researchers have measured the metha barrier in groundwater sources and the melting flow, which flows out of the glacier. The results were remarkable.

The methapieges in the melting flow were up to 800 times higher than the equilibrium level in the atmosphere, which at the beginning of the melting period achieved a top concentration of 3,170 nanomolar hits.

“We expected to see some methane in the melting water, but the concentrations we measured were surprisingly high,” said Gabrielle and emphasized the unexpected size of the problem.

“Our isotope analysis has shown that this methane is geologically and is reset as a glacier and flushes glacier melt water by fractures in the rock.”

Interestingly, the source of this methane was not a microbial activity under the ice, which had been suspected in research in other glacier settings.

Instead, the methane came from old geological formations and had been caught in the region for millions of years.

Methan and “glacier frack”

The further the researchers ventured into their investigation, the more they discovered the role of the glaciers in methane emissions.

The scientists have compared the process with a natural form of the frack and shape the term “glacier frack” to describe this phenomenon, whereby the glaciers mainly bury the methane under the ground as colossal covers.

However, if you melt, the water rinses the gas through cracks in the basic rock and leads the methane over the floor and into the atmosphere.

This process is not just limited to a glacier.

The researchers estimated that similar mechanisms in hundreds of other glaciers could be effective in all of Svalbard, whereby there are over 1,400 glaciers on the archipelago, many of which are exaggerated.

Climate feedback loop

The effects of this research also went far beyond Svalbard on the wider Arctic region and actually the entire planet.

The Arctic has a heating at a speed that is four times as large that the glaciers withdraw at an alarming pace.

As they shrink, more methane could be released to create what scientists call positive feedback loop, in which the warming accelerates glacier melting and free methane sets free methane, which then increases the heating and further melting.

“Methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over short time scales. Although these emissions are seasonal, they could withdraw as more glaciers, ”warned the research team and emphasized the potential global climate systems.

What's next for glaciers and methane?

These results underline how important it is to understand the arctic carbon cycle and the effects of climate change on you.

Future research will be aimed at re -assessing methane budgets in the Arctic, whereby the glacier emissions in addition to the permafrost -upturn and wetlands are included.

While this study is a significant first step, more research is required to recognize the complete expansion of the problem.

The full study was published in the magazine Biogeosciences.

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