Smeltende permafrost vormt tikkende tijdbom

By David Fogarty, Reuters, June 30, 2009

Later toegevoegd, ter enige relativering:

What Do Methane Deposits In The Antarctic And Arctic Mean For The Climate?
Door Verity Payne, Carbon Brief / Climate Progress, 30 augustus 2012

[...] Despite recent research suggesting that we’ve underestimated Arctic methane sources, there isn’t yet evidence to suggest that these sources are having a significant effect on atmospheric methane.

[...] Important warming feedbacks from methane emissions in the polar regions – particularly to the Arctic – have the potential to occur. But different feedbacks are likely to act over different timescales, and the possibility of sudden and catastrophic methane release may be overstated.

[...] although polar methane hydrate sources will probably become important over the long term, particularly if Arctic warming continues, in the nearer future it looks like wetlands will remain the major determining factor in global methane emissions.

Of toch weinig grond voor relativering en des te meer voor alarm: 

UN report calls for closer monitoring of the world's permafrost
Door Graham Lloyd, The Australian, 28 november 2012

Melting ‘Permafrost’ Releases Climate-Warming CO2 Even Faster Than We Thought
University of Michigan News Service / Climate Progress, 12 februari 2013

Exposure to sunlight may act as an amplification factor in the conversion of frozen C [carbon] stores to C gases in the atmosphere.

If We Release a Small Fraction of Arctic Carbon, 'We're Fucked': Climatologist
Door Brian Merchant, Motherboard, 1 augustus 2014

First observations of methane release from Arctic Ocean hydrates
Stockholm University, 23 juli 2014

Zie ook m'n blognotitie:
Smeltende permaforst klimaatramp?