President Obama’s current trip to Russia was mainly about both countries being role models for the rest of the world concerning a reduction in nuclear arms and cooperation on climate change. President Obama voiced concern over Russia’s permafrost region in Siberia. He warned, “If the permafrost in Russia completely melts, it could completely transform the weather patterns on the planet, in some cases in very dangerous ways,” according to ENS website and many others.
Environmental News Service had an article back in 2006 regarding the permafrost melt in Russia. It seems the melting permafrost is releasing ten times the methane than originally thought. The article stated, “The research team recorded the bubbling of methane at two thawing lakes in northern Siberia using aerial surveys, remote sensors and year-round measurements. The scientists found the expansion of the lakes between 1974 and 2000, fueled by a period of regional warming, increased methane emissions by 58 percent.”
The amazing thing is that the methane gas in this permafrost dates back to the Pleistocene age—”some 40 thousand years ago, according to study coauthor Jeff Chanton, a scientist with Florida State University.” The article went on to say: “More than 4 million tons of methane is being released by Siberia’s array of lakes and wetlands, the researchers said, a figure that is 10 to 63 percent higher than previous estimates.” Another study released in 2006 by the British Antarctic Survey, “found that in the past 800,000 years methane had never tipped 750 parts per billion (ppb), but [was] 1,780 ppb [already back in 2006].”
To exacerbate the problem of melting permafrost is that much of the freshwater is diluting the ocean’s saltwater content also. The NOAA Status Report: “NOAA’s Arctic Goals for IPY (International Polar Year) & Beyond” states that possible Arctic influences on global climate change include:
Increase in methane in the atmosphere due to a thaw in the permafrost on land and under water
Fresh water/salt water imbalances. Ocean circulation disruption
Changing albedo of the planet due to melting of sea ice and taller vegetation (ALBEDO refers to ratio of reflected light and incident light)
Extinction or migration of many species
Rising sea level due to Greenland’s melting ice sheet
Increase in severe weather
The NOAA also stated: “Atmospheric influences on the total system are profound.”
Read more:
2009 ENS article: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2009/2009-07-06-01.asp.
2006 ENS article: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2006/2006-09-07-01.asp.
NOAA’s report: www.oco.noaa.gov/meetings/OCOSR/…/9_presentation_Calder.ppt.