Research Reveals that Oceanic Fire-Ice is Vulnerable to Climate Change, Posing a Significant Threat of Methane Release
New research conducted by an international team of researchers has revealed that oceanic fire-ice, or frozen methane, is at risk of melting due to climate change, potentially releasing large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. The team, led by Newcastle University, utilized advanced seismic imaging to study the portion of the hydrate that dissociated during climatic warming off the coast of Mauritania in Northwest Africa.
Their findings, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, indicate that as frozen methane and ice melts, methane is released and moves from the deepest parts of the continental slope to the edge of the underwater shelf, with a specific case of dissociated methane migrating over 40 kilometers and being released through underwater depressions, known as pockmarks, during past warm periods.
Professor Richard Davies, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Global and Sustainability at Newcastle University, described the discovery as an important one, stating that their work shows that the hydrate is indeed vulnerable to climatic warming and that far larger volumes of methane may be liberated from marine hydrates than previously thought.
Methane hydrate, also known as fire-ice, is an ice-like structure found buried in the ocean floor that contains methane. When the oceans warm, vast amounts of methane are released into the oceans and the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
Lead author of the study, Professor Davies, stated that the team plans to continue their research by searching for evidence of methane vents along the margin and attempting to predict where massive methane seeps are likely to occur as the planet warms. They are also planning a scientific cruise to drill into the pockmarks and see if they can more closely tie them to past climatic warming events.
The release of methane from marine hydrates poses a significant threat to our changing climate, and the researchers believe that their study results can play a key role in helping to predict and address the impact of methane on our environment. The hope is to better understand the role of hydrates in the climate system and work towards mitigating the potential threat posed by the release of methane into our atmosphere.