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Melting permafrost releases methane into the atmosphere
CLIMATE CHANGE – It is an insidious, invisible monster that hides underground. It could well be released due to global warming. Your name? Methane, a greenhouse gas much (much) more powerful than CO2. And a large amount of this gas, now trapped in permafrost, that frozen ground made of rocks, sand and ice, is quickly moving to the surface.
In a study published Dec. 13 in the journal Frontiers, a team of scientists analyzed the distribution of methane among the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Here they made a shocking discovery, to say the least. Researchers observed gas migration towards the atmosphere at 41 wells. And the bad news continues.
Permafrost, a barrier in danger
So far, most research has only scratched the surface of how much methane is beneath permafrost. This new study goes deeper. Currently, permafrost (or permafrost) acts like a “cryogenic cap,” the study presents, i.e. a cap that contains the dangerous gas.
Although its exact functioning has not yet been proven, the mixture that makes up the frozen ground allows the methane to be stored underground. But not all places where permafrost occurs are equally impermeable. Therefore, the protective layer is thinner at higher altitudes, probably because there is less groundwater there.
Scientists are sure that the melting of permafrost will lead to a massive release of methane. The idea of widespread leakage has been bolstered in this new study by examining new data from wells designed to explore deposits of fossil fuels (like oil), but that's not all.
“Generalized migration”
The authors of this new study conclude that “Svalbard's subsurface fluid systems are in a state of disequilibrium and widespread hydrocarbon migration is likely currently occurring.” » Translated into everyday language: the permafrost is melting, the gas is rising to the surface and a massive release of methane is now very likely.
Thomas Birchall, doctor of geology at the University Center of Svalbard, believes that methane leaks under permafrost are small. There is currently no accurate estimate of how much methane escapes from permafrost each day. All we know is that there are no less than 1,700 billion tons of methane beneath these frozen soils.
A frightening figure. Because if methane stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter time than CO2 (around ten years compared to around a hundred years for carbon dioxide), it is 84 times more potent in the first few years it is released into the atmosphere.
In the short and medium term, the potential for destruction is enormous because this phenomenon is part of a vicious circle. When permafrost melts, methane is released. This greenhouse gas will contribute to global warming, which will accelerate the melting of permafrost, releasing even more methane…
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