Scientists from the University of Stockholm have detected gigantic methane plumes escaping from the sea floor of the Laptev continental slope. It is believed that this is due to the melting of methane hydrates that have been frozen on the floor of the ocean. They are now melting and releasing the gas because the Arctic Ocean, along with the rest of the arctic, is warming rapidly.
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Mass extinctions have happened periodically throughout Earth’s history for a variety of different reasons, with the usual culprits being either asteroid hits or climate change. The Eocene extinction was originally thought to have been caused by climate induced issues, but recent evidence has suggested that the changes in the weather occurred due to a meteor strike, now believed to be the one that created the Popigai crater in Siberia. The resulting "impact winter" was caused by tiny particles blanketing the Earth and reflecting the sun’s heat, creating a global temperature drop that wiped out most of the Earth’s species.
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The sound of running water has long been associated with positive health benefits, and the appealing sound of a babbling brook can be found on many recordings intended to aid relaxation and induce sleep. No countryside picnic is complete without the sweet singing of a shallow stream somewhere nearby, and water features that emulate the delicate rippling of water rivulets over rocks are popular additions to gardens all over the world.
Unfortunately new research suggests that the bubbles coming from freshwater sources may be a key and currently unaccounted for source of methane, the second-largest greenhouse gas contributor to human-driven global climate change.
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The thinning of the north polar cap has been a concern of scientists for years, but this summer it appears that the ice is thinning fastest at its center, right around the pole itself. This is unexpected and unprecedented and could lead to an ice-free arctic much sooner than expected. Most scientists did not expect such an event to take place for another 10 to 30 years. The more open ocean there is over the arctic, the less heat is reflected and the more methane is released from underwater methane hydrates and melting permafrost. Methane is 30 times more efficient a heat trap than CO2.read more