"It's not great news if it is right"Bomb with MethaneClimate scientists have warned for years that rising Arctic temperatures could cause a methane bomb from ancient greenhouse gas reserves that were trapped in the ice. The Washington Post now reports that the bombs clock is rapidly ticking.According to satellite imagery of northern Siberia, large stretches of limestone once trapped under permafrost have begun to emerge and thaw out. This is according to research published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The limestone began to crack after a Siberian heatwave last year. This released large amounts of methane previously safely stored out of the atmosphere.It's fascinating, Robert Max Holmes, senior scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center, said to WaPo. He didn't work on this study. If it is true, it is not good news.Reverse EngineeringScientists from various Russian and European research institutes discovered the thawing limestone in an unexpected way. The scientists used a mapping technology called Pulse to scan satellites and find the methane emissions. Inverse reports were then created, which allowed them to piece together the source.AdvertisementAdvertisementInverse was told by Nikolaus Froitzheim, University of Bonn geoscientist and lead author of the study, that we found two areas of elevated methane on the PULSE maps perfectly coincide with two strips where limestone formations are present in the subsurface.Big KaboomHolmes, the researcher, said to WaPo that he didn't work on the study but that he believes the research needs more scrutiny before panicking. He said that there was the possibility of climate change catastrophe if all the gas trapped in the permafrost would be released.He told WaPo that we know with a lot confidence how much carbon is stored in the permafrost. It is a large number, and as the Earth heats, permafrost melts, this ancient organic matter becomes available for microbes to perform microbial processes that release CO2 and methane. It doesn't matter if something in the Arctic keeps me awake at night.READ MORE: Scientists had expected the permafrost to thaw wetlands in Siberia. They found something far more dangerous.AdvertisementAdvertisementRead more about climate change: Ah Crap! The Arctic is releasing a ton of new greenhouse gases
