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Can melting of frozen methane explain rapid climate change 56 million years ago?
http://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2016/08/melting-ice.page[font face=Serif][font size=5]Can melting of frozen methane explain rapid climate change 56 million years ago?[/font]
Published: 30 August 2016
[font size=3]New research, led by the University of Southampton, suggests that the release of methane from the seafloor was much slower than previously thought during a rapid global warming event 56 million years ago.
…
Based on evidence from tiny fossils deposited in sediments at the bottom of the ocean, which record information about the chemical composition of the ocean in their shells, current theories suggest that at the same time as the warming there was a massive release of methane gas from the solid earth into the ocean and atmosphere. A large proportion of the Earth’s methane is stored beneath the oceans in the form of an ice-like material called hydrate. This hydrate can melt if the ocean above warms, and melting of hydrate provides a widely accepted mechanism for the methane outburst.
However, the research from the University of Southampton and the National Oceanography Centre casts doubt on this mechanism.
…
Professor Minshull said: “Our findings challenge the hypothesised role of methane hydrates for the PETM. They raise important questions about the potential for breakdown of present-day methane hydrates to exacerbate climate change, though current warming rates are much higher even than those during the PETM.
…[/font][/font]
Published: 30 August 2016
[font size=3]New research, led by the University of Southampton, suggests that the release of methane from the seafloor was much slower than previously thought during a rapid global warming event 56 million years ago.
…
Based on evidence from tiny fossils deposited in sediments at the bottom of the ocean, which record information about the chemical composition of the ocean in their shells, current theories suggest that at the same time as the warming there was a massive release of methane gas from the solid earth into the ocean and atmosphere. A large proportion of the Earth’s methane is stored beneath the oceans in the form of an ice-like material called hydrate. This hydrate can melt if the ocean above warms, and melting of hydrate provides a widely accepted mechanism for the methane outburst.
However, the research from the University of Southampton and the National Oceanography Centre casts doubt on this mechanism.
…
Professor Minshull said: “Our findings challenge the hypothesised role of methane hydrates for the PETM. They raise important questions about the potential for breakdown of present-day methane hydrates to exacerbate climate change, though current warming rates are much higher even than those during the PETM.
…[/font][/font]
