farting can kill us all
Neat title huh? A little misleading though. It's the farting of the earth that I'm referring to. Little "e" here since I'm not talking about the planet but rather small portions of it in artic regions.
According to Dr Katey Walter, lead author of a study being published in the Thursday, Sept. 7 issue of the journal Nature, "The effects can be huge. It's coming out a lot and there's a lot more to come out." Dr Walter is referring to the methane embedded in the soil beneath lakes in the tundra regions of Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada.
That's her over to the left. Kinda cute, huh? She's testing for released methane over in Siberia in that picture. Looks too damn cold there for me!
The reason this is a concern is that methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Methane traps 23 times more heat per molecule. Until recently the ain source of methane in the atmosphere was assumed to be rotting vegetation and cow farts. Damn those flatulent cows! However it appears that methane is being released from the permafrost at a rate five times faster than thought, according to Dr Walter's paper which was published today in Nature.
This is a serious concern because the methane released may trigger what researchers warn is a climate time bomb. As the methane is released from the thawing permafrost, or more accurately the yedoma (ice-rich Pleistocene soils with a high labile carbon content), the accelerated greenhouse effect warms the tundra even more thus releasing even more methane which continues to worsen global warming situation. The one caveat is that methane isn't as stable a molecule. It only lasts about 10 years in the atmosphere versus 100 years for carbon dioxide, however in 10 years a lot of damage can occur and since new methane is being released the entire time--and it's main breakdown product is carbon dioxide--that's not much of a consolation.
The methane in these artic and semi-artic regions is limited in a sense because it was formed eons ago by rotting vegetation and there's no new vegetation to renew the supply of methane. But the methane supply was created in the same time period as oil and look at how long that's lasting us. The total amount of methane hidden in yedoma isn't known but it could be a staggering amount. Interesting times ahead of us...it might be time to invest in potential beachfront property in Kansas.
According to Dr Katey Walter, lead author of a study being published in the Thursday, Sept. 7 issue of the journal Nature, "The effects can be huge. It's coming out a lot and there's a lot more to come out." Dr Walter is referring to the methane embedded in the soil beneath lakes in the tundra regions of Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada.
That's her over to the left. Kinda cute, huh? She's testing for released methane over in Siberia in that picture. Looks too damn cold there for me!The reason this is a concern is that methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Methane traps 23 times more heat per molecule. Until recently the ain source of methane in the atmosphere was assumed to be rotting vegetation and cow farts. Damn those flatulent cows! However it appears that methane is being released from the permafrost at a rate five times faster than thought, according to Dr Walter's paper which was published today in Nature.
This is a serious concern because the methane released may trigger what researchers warn is a climate time bomb. As the methane is released from the thawing permafrost, or more accurately the yedoma (ice-rich Pleistocene soils with a high labile carbon content), the accelerated greenhouse effect warms the tundra even more thus releasing even more methane which continues to worsen global warming situation. The one caveat is that methane isn't as stable a molecule. It only lasts about 10 years in the atmosphere versus 100 years for carbon dioxide, however in 10 years a lot of damage can occur and since new methane is being released the entire time--and it's main breakdown product is carbon dioxide--that's not much of a consolation.
The methane in these artic and semi-artic regions is limited in a sense because it was formed eons ago by rotting vegetation and there's no new vegetation to renew the supply of methane. But the methane supply was created in the same time period as oil and look at how long that's lasting us. The total amount of methane hidden in yedoma isn't known but it could be a staggering amount. Interesting times ahead of us...it might be time to invest in potential beachfront property in Kansas.
Comments
Michele sent me this time.
Here from Michele.
Methane makes me think of some Australian woman (Helen Caldicott, maybe?) who always pronounces it "mee-thane", and tried to get an entire room of NPR listeners to take their plastic and styrofoam meat trays back to the store.
This was very interesting to learn about, by the way. Thanks for an informative post!
Michele sent me!
Happy Friday from Michele's meet and greet.
I think I'll start being surprised when I hear about things that absolutely, positively won't ever be able to wipe out life on our planet.
Head hurting. I neet a root beer float.
I agree with Carmi!
Hello from Michele's!
Michele sent me.
You certainly got me thinking. I also agree with Carmi that it seems everything has the potential to harm or even kill us at some point these days. Makes you sad for our kiddos and our kid's kiddos and what they will have to deal with and clean up!
Which leaves me with one question. Is it possible that this is an issue that normally happens periodically but had previously never been studied? Therefore, it's possible the problems seem more dire than they truly are because they are brought to our attention? Just a thought..
Came from Michele's..Have a good weekend.
In New Zealand they actually have considered a fart tax on cows and sheep! I'll have to research if that is actually happening when I get there. The tax, I mean. I don't want to get too close to know about the farting....
OK, now I'm having fun just writing "fart".....
Thanks for stopping by! =)
Michele sent me here.