The area of the Kara Sea, Franz Josef Land and Svalbard shows temperature anomalies of over 20 degrees Celsius. How can such anomalies be explained?
Continue reading at: Methane venting in the Arctic
Preparation of Safe Geo-Engineering Options Should Humanity Need to Use Them -
The concept of geo-engineering has attracted a spectrum of opinions ranging from support to opposition and many shades in between. However, there is a fundamental reality staring in our face. If humanity waits until the point of no return is crossed and a runaway is unleashed, it will be too late to develop any such options. In the opinion of this writer, the prudent position is to work now on developing safe geo-engineering options so that there might at least be a chance to implement them should the world become convinced that a runaway is imminent.
Perceiving a threat that Arctic ice could conceivably collapse as soon as 2013, John Nissen - chairperson of the Arctic Methane Emergency Group (24) - offers a statement in support of urgent development of safe modes of geo-engineering :
"The Arctic Methane Emergency Group (AMEG) has been set up for the express
purpose of drawing the world’s attention to the danger arising from astonishingly
rapid retreat of sea ice, accelerated warming of the Arctic and escalating methane
emissions from the seabed, especially in the area off the Siberian coast. It is the
methane that can produce abrupt climate change, but it is the retreat of sea ice
that has triggered this crisis...... We are approaching a likely point of no return,
and therefore it is essential that emergency measures are taken to avoid passing
this point. This involves intervention on a large scale to cool the Arctic, either
directly or indirectly by cooling currents and rivers flowing into the Arctic. By
definition such intervention constitutes what is called 'geoengineering', but, whereas
geoengineering has generally been considered on a global scale to counter global
warming rising over decades, we need geoengineering geared to cool the Arctic
with a timescale of just months, to prevent a possible collapse in sea ice extent
in September 2013."
Critical Need for the Scientific Community to Speak Out More Forcefully -
In the case of methane, we are not dealing with a dramatic image of an atomic fireball and its capacity to render immediate destruction. But extended over a longer range of time, the global devastation it would inflict would be no less sweeping. The spectre of a methane runaway is real and it is an existential threat to humanity.
In our society, the scientific community holds a position of great respect. In order to protect scientific "objectivity", our tradition has been to separate the institution of science from the realm of public policy. I do not call upon Real Climate to violate its internal agreement and issue specific policy directives. However, I do call upon it to release a generic warning to policy makers that humanity must break out of its state of denial, recognize that the laws of physics do not operate on a political calendar, realize we are dealing with a powerful force that can spin out of control, and therefore quickly educate ourselves as to the severity of the threat. It is my hope that Real Climate - as well as the larger community of climate scientists - will rise to the occasion and show the way.
Gary Houser Co-producer and writer
"Sleeping Giant of the Arctic:
Could Thawing Methane Trigger Runaway Global Warming?"
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