tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post6656995422143975023..comments2024-03-25T04:43:08.153-07:00Comments on Arctic News: Mantle MethaneSam Caranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-58284601425203527872014-03-21T00:30:13.910-07:002014-03-21T00:30:13.910-07:00Thanks to Malcolm Light for posting this closely-r...Thanks to Malcolm Light for posting this closely-reasoned analysis of the origins of arctic methane emissions. To my mind there are two issues being brought together here which might benefit from being discussed separately. One is the veil of methane emissions which is an an empirical observation based largely off satellite data. This needs the widest possible emphasis in popular media. The second is the hypothesis presented, of a non-biogenic origin of the methane emissions based off consumption of subducting plate material in the mantle. This is reminiscent of the theories of Arthur Gold in the 1990s and I think must remain a speculative hypothesis, until a deep-seated origin of the gas can be proved. Given that there have been recent warnings of possible multi-gigatonne 'burp' release of methane from hydrates, is it not simpler to adopt the assumption that current methane releases could all be from hydrate sources (using 'Occams Razor'?). For the time being I assume that the outcomes for the planet are the same, regardless of origin. Thanks for the continued invaluable flow of information through your posts.<br />JohnGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11613781884378953465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-84628660279303627632014-03-18T19:36:46.149-07:002014-03-18T19:36:46.149-07:00Hi Chris, I have meanwhile added the full URL of t...Hi Chris, I have meanwhile added the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exfNNDExxIc" rel="nofollow">full URL</a> of the Miracle Planet video, which was aired in April 2005, so it may have merely been added to show that concerns about warming methane hydrates causing extinction have been commonplace for at least nine years. <br /><br />I'll try and track down further URLs. Malcolm may also be able to provide further background, and I'm sure he'll do so in future posts, but I can understand that he wanted this posted as quickly as possible. Sam Caranahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-49747340189956147562014-03-18T07:25:09.411-07:002014-03-18T07:25:09.411-07:00Hi Sam, I've been reading through this again a...Hi Sam, I've been reading through this again and I'm a bit concerned with the references - can you please check that they are correct.<br /><br />I've also looked at some of the referred information from the Wignall you tube (I've had to track down the episode myself) and there is no mention of mantle methane at all. <br /><br />Can we have more accurate information too, like where exactly the reference is (section numbers of the referred document)?Chris Masierohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09459153585413226979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-42391569055128053082014-03-08T17:35:02.641-08:002014-03-08T17:35:02.641-08:00Thanks Peter. Yes, it's on the Gakkel Ridge an...Thanks Peter. Yes, it's on the Gakkel Ridge and was reported by the <a href="http://static4.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=363370#summary" rel="nofollow">European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre</a> as a M4.5 earthquake at 85.95 N, 24.56 E, time: 11:17:17.0 on 2014-03-06. I didn't see it at USGS, but I did notice a <a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000n0il#summary" rel="nofollow">magnitude 5 earthquake close to Jan Mayen on March 4, 2014</a>. We'll keep monitoring the methane levels. Sam Caranahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-9972894621726664942014-03-08T14:29:11.581-08:002014-03-08T14:29:11.581-08:00Last Thursday, given a earthquake there in the nor...Last Thursday, given a earthquake there in the north of Svalbard <br />Is that the Gakkel ridge? <br /><br />'Date & Time: 03/06/2014 11:17:18 UTC <br />Latitude: 85.98 N Longitude: 26.03 E <br />Magnitude: 4.4 Magnitude Type: Mb <br />Depth (Km): 2.0 <br />Location Type: automatic <br />Agency: EMS '<br /><br />Sorry for the bad English, it is translated with googlepeterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11926671796020834246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-34073732981888466832014-03-06T20:09:59.905-08:002014-03-06T20:09:59.905-08:00I think it's important to not only engineer ba...I think it's important to not only engineer bacteria to decompose methane, but since these bacterial are likely to produce CO2 as a metabolite, single celled organisms that metabolites CO2 into oxygen (i.e., algae and the like) should also be used n conjunction.ramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16575487903129863577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-91937970958726873972014-03-04T02:57:43.467-08:002014-03-04T02:57:43.467-08:00Yes, I do believe there are ways to reduce the dan...Yes, I do believe there are ways to reduce the dangers, such as by using laser/radio systems, by stimulating the growth of microbes that break down methane in the water, by catching the methane on the surface of the water, etc. For more on such action, see <a href="http://climateplan.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">http://climateplan.blogspot.com</a>Sam Caranahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-90288337332251840962014-03-04T02:01:13.620-08:002014-03-04T02:01:13.620-08:00HAARP never even looked at ways to decompose metha...HAARP never even looked at ways to decompose methane and I'm not aware that anything has been happening at HAARP since the time it appears to have been closed down (in early May 2013). Should more R&D and testing be done into ways to decompose methane, such as by using radio/laser systems? Absolutely!Sam Caranahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-59841304725646591702014-03-04T01:18:42.663-08:002014-03-04T01:18:42.663-08:00Is there the possibility of destroying methane in ...Is there the possibility of destroying methane in the atmosphere using radio/laser based systems like HAARP?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02909963668916850068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-33420537022826903532014-03-03T04:26:43.106-08:002014-03-03T04:26:43.106-08:00Is there still the possibility of using a radio an...Is there still the possibility of using a radio and laser system to break up the methane in the ionosphere. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02909963668916850068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-49831872863140550242014-03-02T01:20:09.899-08:002014-03-02T01:20:09.899-08:00In the post High methane levels over the Arctic Oc...In the post <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2014/01/high-methane-levels-over-the-arctic-ocean-on-january-14-2014.html" rel="nofollow">High methane levels over the Arctic Ocean on January 14, 2014</a> I gave an estimate of 99 Tg of methane entering the atmosphere from hydrates annually, a figure that is growing rapidly. Obviously, the amount of methane being released from hydrates will be greater than the methane that actually reaches the atmosphere, since part of the releases is (still) being decomposed by microbed in the water, but it's hard to give an estimate. In case of large abrupt releases, much methane will rise to the surface without getting decomposed. Sam Caranahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-55031152066358440982014-03-02T01:06:39.225-08:002014-03-02T01:06:39.225-08:00Thanks Sam. I guess there is not a way to quantify...Thanks Sam. I guess there is not a way to quantify how much methane is coming from this deep geopressured source versus ordinary methane hydrates?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02909963668916850068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-57524703173488825832014-03-01T20:48:56.631-08:002014-03-01T20:48:56.631-08:00Hi Matthew,
The following may be helpful. The fa...Hi Matthew, <br /><br />The following may be helpful. The faultline that crosses the Arctic Ocean continues into the Laptev Sea (which is part of ESAS). For more on this, also see the post <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/10/high-methane-levels-over-laptev-sea.html" rel="nofollow">High Methane Levels over Laptev Sea</a>. <br /><br />As to microbes that decompose methane in the water, they could be released in a number of ways, e.g. if released at the edge of the sea ice, sea currents could spread them across them across the Arctic Ocean. They could also be released through holes drilled in the sea ice. Another approach is to add iron and other trace metals/micro nutrients to the open water in order to stimulate growth of diatoms that add oxygen, which is then used by methanotroph bacteria to oxidize methane. For more discussion of the various action, also see the <a href="http://climateplan.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Climate Plan blog</a>.Sam Caranahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-91623012163131244132014-03-01T20:31:42.891-08:002014-03-01T20:31:42.891-08:00Yes, I should check the URLs of references, Mischa...Yes, I should check the URLs of references, Mischa, I'll do so soon. I just wanted to add this important post as soon as possible. Thanks for commenting. Sam Caranahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-15017496667901423762014-03-01T20:29:55.582-08:002014-03-01T20:29:55.582-08:00You are correct, Harry, the scale at the bottom re...You are correct, Harry, the scale at the bottom reflects longitude. I'll try and edit the post soon, perhaps replacing it with the image in the post <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2013/10/unfolding-methane-catastrophe.html" rel="nofollow">Unfolding Methane Catastrophe</a>, which is a mirrored version. Thanks for commenting. Sam Caranahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12376449209858411775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-76230283909012000182014-03-01T17:41:32.475-08:002014-03-01T17:41:32.475-08:00Thank you for your important & excellent contr...Thank you for your important & excellent contribution! Please note that quite a few of the links in the references section are broken, e.g. the Wignall 2009 video link and several of the Malcolm Light references to specific, earlier Arctic-News Blog posts just return to the main page, which is currently this post, rather than to the earlier posts referenced. Please review all the references & revise as necessary. Thanks!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04588371472199864027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-12526400302024060192014-03-01T12:39:12.382-08:002014-03-01T12:39:12.382-08:00I have some questions:
- Is Malcolm Light's c...I have some questions:<br /><br />- Is Malcolm Light's calculation of future temperature trends (leading to 8 degrees in 2050) assuming an increasing future concentration of CO2?<br />- More to the point what trend of temperature increase is he assuming for the Arctic region itself?<br />- Or does the Arctic not even need to keep warming for the complete eruption of Enrico p-v plume to now eventuate?<br /><br />This article has huge implications for what policy the world should now follow for the Arctic- for Light is suggesting that we need ready access to the region when the sea ice melts in order to seed the CH4-consuming bacteria. <br />But there is also the argument that we should be cooling the Arctic specifically to prevent the ice from disappearing, thus keeping the region not navigable by the ships that would be needed for the bacteria. <br /><br />The most concerning methane emissions so far have been, as far as I understand, those from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. However the ESAS is not mentioned here, how does it fit into the picture? Can the emissions recorded by scientists like Shakova and Semiletov be attributed to process Light is describing?<br /><br />And any idea how much of the methane releases variously recorded by Sam Carana can be attributed to this geopressured methane, given the release seems to be continuous?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02909963668916850068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046701423623795423.post-59918315745030528642014-03-01T11:15:32.306-08:002014-03-01T11:15:32.306-08:00Don't you mean longitude in figure 4?Don't you mean longitude in figure 4? Harry Guiremandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07259294370809830371noreply@blogger.com