Fountains of Methane 1000m across Erupt From Arctic Ice!

reply to post by freedomSlave


"Climate flips" (good phrase, btw) are going to occur. This is becoming evident in past examples, obtained by various research methods (Antarctic ice core samples, for instance).

But, this is a LONG----term process, most likely. Meaning?? It is for generations long after we are all dead and gone to deal with....and, our technological prowess continues to evolve.

We are a very inventive species.

reply to post by CaticusMaximus

Well,somebody needs to get down there and throw a match on it to burn it off.

With a plausible role for methane clathrates in the Paleocene, it is only natural to examine whether they played a similar role in more recent climate changes, such as rapid climate variability during the last ice age. There are some tantalizing clues. In ocean sediments offshore of California, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs and colleagues at Woods Hole recently found geochemical traces of clathrate releases coincident with warmings in the Greenland ice core records. In some records, there are coincident spikes in the carbon isotope record, reminiscent of the Paleocene/Eocene spike but of lower amplitude. This has lead Jim Kennett to propose the so-called "clathrate gun hypothesis", that methane builds up in clathrates during cold periods, and as a warming starts it is explosively released, leading to enhanced further rapid climate warming. This idea is not yet widely accepted, mainly because the records of methane in the ice cores seems to lag the temperature changes, and the magnitudes involved do not appear large enough to significantly perturb the radiative balance of the planet. The more conventional explanation is that as the climate warms there is increased rain in the tropics and thus increased emissions from tropical wetlands which need to have been large enough to counteract a probable increase in the methane sink. There is, however, much that we don't understand about the methane cycle during the ice ages, and maybe hydrates will eventually be considered part of the rapid climate change story.

www.giss.nasa.gov...

reply to post by kdog1982


LOL!! Funny visual:

Well,somebody needs to get down there and throw a match on it to burn it off.

They'd have to do it "anonymously" ( and stand WELL back... ) in order to not get charged for the "Carbon Credits" as a result!!

The earth is smart

This could end up being big news if we actually get a full report, you never know with these things cause they would never tell you the full extent if it was dangerous.
Recently I sort of accidently came to the conclusion that the earth is actually alive. It made sense for many reasons but I trust the earth would know what it is doing.

Somehow I think we're going to still be paying a carbon tax...and it's not even our fault!

Corporations destroy the Earth, Earth fights back...and I have to pay.

hmmm....

They should put the methane on fire... it would turn into CO2... which would be better.

Right?

Hope you're right Proudbird. Yes the Ice Core samples do tell us that these flips have occurred on a regular basis but if I remember correctly, we're well over due for one.

Perhaps it's our inventiveness that's got us into this mess we find ourselves in. However, I do think that if this thing is about to happen, no amount of inventiveness will get us out of it - yes there will be survivors but we'll be thrown back to Caveman Days and I for one don't fancy rubbing sticks together to light a fire.

Originally posted by ProudBird
reply to post by kdog1982

 

LOL!! Funny visual:

Well,somebody needs to get down there and throw a match on it to burn it off.

They'd have to do it "anonymously" ( and stand WELL back...

) in order to not get charged for the "Carbon Credits" as a result!!

Somehow I take it you have participated in this ritual of " lighting your farts".
Those were the days.

Originally posted by Vitchilo
They should put the methane on fire... it would turn into CO2... which would be better.

Right?

Better than methane,chose the best option in the two evils.

Originally posted by Vitchilo
They should put the methane on fire... it would turn into CO2... which would be better.

Right?

Free Energy - Great! But doubt they'd be able to control it. Having said that, here in New Zealand they harness the thermal energy and we even have beaches and lake areas where you can dig a hole and have your own thermal pool, which is great but Siberia is a very harsh environment to work in.

Just remembered, they do have bases in Antarctica so they probably could harness it.

Any plumbers in the house?

reply to post by Vitchilo


Methane requires the presence of oxygen to burn, though. That puts a crimp in the "burn it" strategy, as once it reaches the surface, its already to diffuse to ignite, and it doesnt come from just one small hole or something, so piping it would be nigh impossible. A lot of the methane actually dissipates into the ocean as it rises, lowering oceanic oxygen levels. Thats one theory behind some major marine extinction events of the past.

Anyway it doesn't matter. Back in the day, life on earth breathe methane. Then oxygen breathing organism appeared and destroyed the methane breathing life.

Way less methane? The whole earth froze for millions of years.

I'll rather have temperatures getting warmer than getting colder. At least getting warmer, you can reverse it. Getting colder, you can't.

I say find a way to harness it now, one way or another.
Then when shtf the thing that is trying to kill us all could potentially be used to save us all.

reply to post by Vitchilo


I'm with you on getting warmer.
As I age,it seems I'm always cold.
Being from the deep south ,I miss my high humidity and heat.
I now live in the midwest,and even though it's only in the 40's,I am dreading winter.

Just kidding,of course.

reply to post by Vitchilo


I thought it was CO2 that mass quantities of primitive oceanic algae breathed, eventually killing itself as it expelled O2 as the byproduct

Ill need to crack out that geology textbook now

About the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, the most likely cause was the largest flood basalt eruption (look up the Siberian traps) going up through the largest coal deposit on the planet. This caused global warming among many of the unpleasant side effects which then #ed with ocean circulation. (namely the cool water going deep down at the poles) The result of this was deep sea anoxia, leaving only the top portion the the water properly oxygenated. I don't think that this is going to be that bad, but methane eruptions have caused lesser mass extintions. I think people will survive and hopefully they will do their best to speed along the breakdown of methane and such, but that remains to be see

somebody get master blaster on the line and tell him he might not be running barter town any more i think we need to find a way to make use of this "gift" from the planet and try to use it for energy or at least put it to some form of good use

still another example of the warnings i have been telling the forum////

the increased out-gassing
the increased volcanic activity & lava flows all up & down the mid-atlantic ridge
(following the model of the:

palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk...
The Siberian Traps were the largest volcanic eruption in Earth history and they occured right at the same time as the largest extinction event in Earth history.

The Siberian Traps are a large igneous province were a result of a mantle plume. A mantle plume is a giant pulse of heat that rises towards the surface from the core/mantle boundary. Plumes are easily indentified but not well understood and they are believed to be part of a cooling mechanism for the core. Whatever their cause a large amount of anomalously hot material rises to the surface and ponds below the earths crust in a head which can be 1000's of km wide and 100's of km deep.

www.google.com...:en-US

fficial&client=firefox-a

these are the factors that led to the P-T Boundary extinction

it is just a thought/ theory that the increased activity & temperature spikes of the inner & outer Core of the
Planet is creating these extreme mantle currents & Mantle Plumes that are creating these anomalies in the crust (gas releases, Lava flows, earthquakes. sinkholes/depressions and huge bulges in the Earth's crust)


the magnetic pole flip, the increased hotter climate overall, the decompressing Planet, the creation of new ocean seafloors and increased dry land along the mid-atlantic ridge are just some of the 'signs' of this rapid change era

Originally posted by Mkoll
About the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, the most likely cause was the largest flood basalt eruption (look up the Siberian traps) going up through the largest coal deposit on the planet. This caused global warming among many of the unpleasant side effects which then #ed with ocean circulation. (namely the cool water going deep down at the poles) The result of this was deep sea anoxia, leaving only the top portion the the water properly oxygenated. I don't think that this is going to be that bad, but methane eruptions have caused lesser mass extintions. I think people will survive and hopefully they will do their best to speed along the breakdown of methane and such, but that remains to be see

You are correct in your thinking.
Maybe just "cull" the herd a bit,so to speak.