Comment Comment by bithive123 Here is a good video about the arctic methane emergency: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F9ed5E54s4Some summary points:- Total amount of methane in the current atmosphere: ~5 gigatons- Amount of carbon preserved as methane in the arctic shelf: estimated at 100s-1000s of gigatons- Only 1% release would double the atmospheric burden of methane- Not much effort is needed to destabilize this 1%- The volume currently being released is estimated at 50 gigatons (it could be far more)- 50 gigatons is 10x the methane content of the current atmosphere- We are already at 2.5x pre-industrial level, there is a methane veil spreading southward from the arctic.- Methane is 150x as powerful a greenhouse gas as CO2 when it is first released.Here is a longer video for those who have the time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPdc75epOEw parent bithive123 9 years ago
Some summary points:
- Total amount of methane in the current atmosphere: ~5 gigatons
- Amount of carbon preserved as methane in the arctic shelf: estimated at 100s-1000s of gigatons
- Only 1% release would double the atmospheric burden of methane
- Not much effort is needed to destabilize this 1%
- The volume currently being released is estimated at 50 gigatons (it could be far more)
- 50 gigatons is 10x the methane content of the current atmosphere
- We are already at 2.5x pre-industrial level, there is a methane veil spreading southward from the arctic.
- Methane is 150x as powerful a greenhouse gas as CO2 when it is first released.
Here is a longer video for those who have the time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPdc75epOEw