Under the permafrost (term referring to permanently frozen ground) of Spitsbergen, Several would be trapped in Norway Millions of cubic meters of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that can contribute to global warming. Scientists do not yet know the extent of the threat, but it is clear that the permafrost in this Arctic region is at risk of being destroyed. melting due to rising global temperatures: Trapped methane could enter the atmosphere and trigger a vicious circle that could worsen the climate crisis.
What lies beneath the permafrost of Svalbard? I study
Consider the data from eight wells Exploration drilling by fossil fuel companies in local permafrost, researchers from Norway They found that half contained significant accumulations of Methane at depths of about 2 meters under permafrost.
“Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas,” he says Dr. Thomas Birchall from the University Center of SvalbardLead author of the study published in the journal Frontiers in Earth Sciences. At the moment the loss of greenhouse gas under the permafrost is very weak, but factors such as the retreat of glaciers and the merger from the same Permafrost can speed up the process leak very fast.
The discovery suggests that methane is relatively abundant in the archipelago and can easily escape emigrate to the surface when released ” catch “. This probably also applies to other regions of the Arctic that have similar geological origins.
birch and his colleagues, however, found that Permafrost in the valleys of Spitsbergen it seems to be working “sealant” effective and prevents deep methane from escaping into the atmosphere, even when plateau areas form Barriers much more weak.
This is most likely due to permafrost forming in the valleys on the other side hydrostatic level below, creating a seal thick, impermeable ice; It was precisely at these points that the researchers were able to detect the increase Pressure This indicates the presence of gas accumulated in the wells.
On the contrary, the areas from the board They have less water to suck in, which leads to stratification Ice more subtle. When fossil fuel companies drill in such landscapes, they tend to find fewer hydrocarbon gases because they have already migrated through geological structures or into the atmosphere to another area of permafrost, researchers suspect.
This is the conclusion reached by the authors of the study “Fluid systems” Basement of the Islands Svalbard I'm in a state of imbalance and widespread hydrocarbon migration is likely already underway at this point.
The climate threat associated with melting permafrost
As glaciers retreat and permafrost continues to melt, the risk of accelerated methane release poses a significant threat to the climate. Methane is the second most common greenhouse gas in the atmosphere for carbon dioxide and accounts for about 16% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The year 2023 was the hottest summer on record in the Arctic, causing wildfires, melting ice and a decline in river ice. This warming trend could trigger the release of additional methane trapped beneath the permafrost, which in turn would lead to an increase in temperature, leading to an acceleration in the rate of permafrost melting, etc. Vicious circle likely to worsen an already impaired global climate situation.