Saturday 6 March 2010

Feedback cuts in: The vast East Siberian Arctic Shelf methane stores are destabilizing and venting

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued a disturbing research report on increases in methane leakage in the Arctic. Methane leakage is most immediate climate change feedback loop threat we face - increased leakage means we have less time to shift to a zero-carbon world than previously thought.
NSF issues world a wake-up call: "Release of even a fraction of the methane stored in the shelf could trigger abrupt climate warming."

The research was undertaken jointly by scientists at the Russian Academy of Sciences and the University of Alaska.

The Climate Progress blog coverage of the report is the best thing to read. Check out the well-informed blog comments as well.

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