Thawing tundra may be allowing long-buried pockets of methane to be released into the atmosphere, new research suggests. A study surveying the Mackenzie Delta in Canada, published Wednesday in the journal Scientific Reports, suggested that these methane "seeps" on the tundra may be more problematic than previously thought.
Nitrous oxide, the main ingredient in laughing gas, does more than just act as a nerve agent; it is a powerful greenhouse gas. It is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide and scientists believe could be leaking from ancient reservoirs beneath Arctic permafrost.
Deep in the soils of permafrost lurks unknown and archaic bacteria that could potentially spawn viruses and disease that the human race has never been exposed to, at least, not in the recent history of penicillin. But with climate change rapidly heating up the poles, the permafrost is melting away, and we may have to face whatever is beneath the ice.
Researchers Alexander Sokolov and Dorothee Ehrich, working on the island of Belyy, first spotted a mysterious bubble last year. While the exact reason for these spots hasn't been determined, environmental researchers think they could be linked to the release of methane by melting permafrost under the surface.
When Sokolov and Ehrich punctured one of the spots, air escaped from it. The air contained 200 times more methane and 20 times more carbon dioxide than there is in the air we breathe. Preliminary guesses link the spots with a recent heat wave in Europe.
"It is likely that that 10 days of extraordinary heat could have started some mechanisms, [and the] higher level of permafrost could have thawed and released a huge amount of gases," Sokolov told the Siberian Times.
"It is evident even to amateurs that this is a very serious alarm," he added. "As for the future, we are interested in further study of the bubbles."
Leaking methane from melting permafrost has been linked to sinkholes and craters across Siberia, so Sokolov's current hypothesis could be true. The team will continue to study the strange spots and geologist will monitor the region as well, Science Alert reported.
It is also possible that more bubbles will appear as 2016 is expected to be the hottest year on record, according to a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report.
The waterbed-like response can be seen in this video created by the Siberian Times:
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