Release of methane, one of the major greenhouse gases, from melting hydrates has been proposed as a mechanism that accelerated global warming in the past. We focus on Arctic Ocean warming as a robust case study for accelerated melting of hydrates, assessing the impact of Arctic methane release on global air temperatures during the next century. Contrary to popular belief, it is shown that methane emissions from melting hydrates from the Arctic seafloor is not a major driver of global warming.
Release of methane, one of the major greenhouse gases, from melting hydrates has been proposed...
Climatic impact of Arctic Ocean methane hydrate
dissociation in the 21st-century
Sunil Vadakkepuliyambatta1,Ragnhild B. Skeie2,Gunnar Myhre2,Stig B. Dalsøren2,Anna Silyakova1,Norbert Schmidbauer3,Cathrine Lund Myhre3,and Jürgen Mienert1Sunil Vadakkepuliyambatta et al.Sunil Vadakkepuliyambatta1,Ragnhild B. Skeie2,Gunnar Myhre2,Stig B. Dalsøren2,Anna Silyakova1,Norbert Schmidbauer3,Cathrine Lund Myhre3,and Jürgen Mienert1
Received: 07 Nov 2017 – Accepted for review: 15 Dec 2017 – Discussion started: 18 Dec 2017
Abstract. Greenhouse gas methane trapped in sub-seafloor gas hydrates may play an important role in a potential climate feedback system. The impact of future Arctic Ocean warming on the hydrate stability and its contribution to atmospheric methane concentrations remains an important and unanswered question. Here, we estimate the climate impact of released methane from oceanic gas hydrates in the Arctic to the atmosphere towards the end of the 21st century, integrating hydrate stability and atmospheric modeling. Based on future climate models, we estimate that increasing ocean temperatures over the next 100 years could release up to 17 ± 6 Gt C into the Arctic Ocean. However, the released methane has a limited or minor impact on the global mean surface temperature, contributing only 0.1 % of the projected anthropogenic influenced warming over the 21st century.
Release of methane, one of the major greenhouse gases, from melting hydrates has been proposed as a mechanism that accelerated global warming in the past. We focus on Arctic Ocean warming as a robust case study for accelerated melting of hydrates, assessing the impact of Arctic methane release on global air temperatures during the next century. Contrary to popular belief, it is shown that methane emissions from melting hydrates from the Arctic seafloor is not a major driver of global warming.
Release of methane, one of the major greenhouse gases, from melting hydrates has been proposed...
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