| Quote From Source: |
| The Independent has been passed details of preliminary findings suggesting that massive deposits of sub-sea methane are bubbling to the surface as the Arctic region becomes warmer and its ice retreats. Underground stores of methane are important because scientists believe their sudden release has in the past been responsible for rapid increases in global temperatures, dramatic changes to the climate, and even the mass extinction of species. Scientists aboard a research ship that has sailed the entire length of Russia's northern coast have discovered intense concentrations of methane – sometimes at up to 100 times background levels – over several areas covering thousands of square miles of the Siberian continental shelf. In the past few days, the researchers have seen areas of sea foaming with gas bubbling up through "methane chimneys" rising from the sea floor. They believe that the sub-sea layer of permafrost, which has acted like a "lid" to prevent the gas from escaping, has melted away to allow methane to rise from underground deposits formed before the last ice age. |
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ponder ...
Large Release of Methane Could Cause Abrupt and Catastrophic Climate Change as Happened 635 Million Years Ago
http://newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=1849
Methane threatens to repeat Ice Age meltdown 55 million years ago
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-5167264.html
Methane Release Could Cause Abrupt, Far-Reaching Climate Change
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111554
Maybe we should light it 
Completely OT, but it reminded me of this
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26877682/ 