Timebomb ticking away under Arctic

As the Arctic warms the permafrost melts letting methane gas escape into the atmosphere, which accelerates global warming still further.

by Steve Connor

from NZ Herald 24 September 2008 The first evidence that millions of tonnes of a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere from beneath the Arctic seabed has been discovered by scientists.

Details of preliminary findings suggest that massive deposits of sub-sea methane are bubbling to the surface as the Arctic region becomes warmer and its ice retreats. Underground stores of methane are important because scientists believe their sudden release has in the past been responsible for rapid increases in global temperatures, dramatic changes to the climate, and even the mass extinction of species.

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