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from the imagine-a-spherical-cow,-under-water,-burping dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Scientists in Siberia have discovered an area of sea that is "boiling" with methane, with bubbles that can be scooped from the water with buckets. Researchers on an expedition to the East Siberian Sea said the "methane fountain" was unlike anything they had seen before, with concentrations of the gas in the region to be six to seven times higher than the global average.
The team, led by Igor Semiletov, from Tomsk Polytechnic University in Russia, traveled to an area of the Eastern Arctic previously known to produce methane fountains. They were studying the environmental consequences of permafrost thawing beneath the ocean.
Permafrost is ground that is permanently frozen—in some cases for tens of thousands of years. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, permafrost currently covers about 8.7 million square miles of the Northern Hemisphere.
[...] permafrost is also present under the ocean. In 2017, scientists announced they had discovered hundreds of craters at the bottom of the Barents Sea, north of Norway and Russia. The craters had formed from methane building up then exploding suddenly when the pressure got too high.
In the latest expedition to chart methane emissions coming from the ocean, researchers analyzed the water around Bennett Island, taking samples of sea water and sediments. In one area, however, they found something unexpected—an extremely sharp increase in the concentration of atmospheric methane. According to a statement from Tomsk Polytechnic University, it was six to seven times higher than average.
They then noticed an area of water around four to five square meters that was "boiling with methane bubbles," the statement said. This could be scooped out with buckets, the researchers said. After identifying the fountain, the team was able to take samples directly from it. Methane levels around the fountain were nine times higher than average global concentrations.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @09:00PM (7 children)
"East Siberian Sea" is arctic sea, around the north pole. It's not "In Siberia", a large landlocked mass of land.
Marty, you should be shamed of yo self. We expect better of you.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @09:19PM (1 child)
Marty don't go around deleting journal entries, like some other "editors".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @09:21PM
[citation needed]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @09:21PM (2 children)
I'm trying to figure out whether you are dumb, or just ignorant [wikipedia.org].
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @09:31PM (1 child)
An AC ragging on me accusing being ignint, citing some dumbass wikii piece. SMH. Trump must applaud your effort. Dumb fuck AC.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @10:03PM
Did you at least bother to read the first two lines of the article?
Coast? But the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-bleating GP called Siberia "landlocked". That can't be right. Fake news! Wikipedia is the enemy of the state! Well, my state of mind, at least, and that's what counts!
Damn snowflakes.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday October 10 2019, @12:17AM (1 child)
Landlocked? I've looked at several maps in just a few minutes, trying to justify that claim. It just doesn't work, man. Siberia, Indiana, USA is seriously landlocked. https://www.mapquest.com/us/indiana/siberia-in-283586292?zoom=0 [mapquest.com]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 10 2019, @02:56AM
Ooooh, noooow you wanna use facts and logic. If only that extended to your crippling emotional issues.
(Score: 2, Funny) by NPC-131072 on Wednesday October 09 2019, @09:29PM (1 child)
Researchers have never seen me taking a bath.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @10:27PM
Checks username, yup seems about right.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday October 09 2019, @09:58PM (5 children)
The Siberian permafrost thaw methane release has been used as a bogeyman in the climate change mindshare battle for many years now.
The real scary thing is... that thing we don't know about that is even more impactful.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday October 09 2019, @10:01PM (2 children)
We have to find a way to harvest it. It has to be good for something.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday October 09 2019, @10:53PM
Natural Gas is basically just methane. If you burn it for power it would result in a net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The "only" problem would be the incredible cost ($$ and emissions) of the logistics involved.
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Thursday October 10 2019, @08:30PM
We have already found a way to harvest it.
It's even included in the summary. Twice.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by sjames on Wednesday October 09 2019, @10:05PM (1 child)
Of course, the bogyman isn't actually real. This is and it's here now.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday October 10 2019, @01:09AM
Maybe 5 years back, I was reading about how the Siberian permafrost could thaw, release enough methane to raise temperatures enough to increase the rate of thaw and result in a runaway feedback loop causing total melting of the polar caps within 40 years... That's a bogey man story.
It's real, it's accelerating, and it's impacting global warming with a positive (meaning: bad) feedback loop, but not at those levels.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @10:00PM (5 children)
It is effervescing
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday October 09 2019, @10:56PM (1 child)
The looming climate apocalypse will be crisp and refreshing?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @11:08PM
Yes in 12 years we will start a self flagellation craze instead
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday October 10 2019, @10:27AM (2 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Thursday October 10 2019, @08:40PM (1 child)
While I appreciate your condescending tone toward AC, it should be noted that the boiling point of methane is quite low.
That is quite a bit lower than the temperature of permafrost (no citation, but if I'm wrong, please enlighten me). As such, it is reasonable to expect methane to be gaseous.
...or trapped in solution. Which might lead to effervescence.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday October 11 2019, @07:07AM
Consider yourself condescended towards.
Fuxake.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1) by anubi on Wednesday October 09 2019, @11:31PM
Methane and water do odd things when cold and under pressure. They form an odd ice that burns.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_clathrate [wikipedia.org]
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @11:40PM (2 children)
When looking for dog poop in the park it is probably significantly less than 1% poop. I don't get to find a peice of poop and claim its significant because the area within an inch of that poop is 70% poop and claim the park is ending.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 09 2019, @11:56PM (1 child)
Ummm..try human poop in San Francisco.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 10 2019, @02:48AM
San Francisco IS a human poop.
Nice pieces of real estate, pity the cretins occupying it (and no, I don't mean the bums).
(Score: 3, Informative) by VLM on Thursday October 10 2019, @12:53PM (2 children)
Lets run the math and see if "boiling" is a real adjective or alarmist.
Google reports average methane concentration is about 1800 ppb or around 2 ppm. We'll round up to give the benefit to the alarmists and call nine times 1800 ppb to be 20 ppm to make the math simple.
There is pretty much by definition a million mL in a cubic meter. It seems not ridiculous that a bubble of methane would be about one mL, like a droplet of water. So 20 ppm would be 20 bubbles in a cubic meter.
So imagine a tiny cubic garden pond three feet on a side and three feet deep. Or a weird shaped but freak'n huge aquarium. There's 20 dinky little bubbles in that water and thats rounding WAY up. Well, technically a mere 18 more than would naturally be there anyway.
Its not exactly a Chernobyl style boiling frothing melt down like a volcanic eruption. Its 20 freaking bubbles.
I'm not saying methane release is good, it probably isn't, but lying to the public for alarmist propaganda purposes most certainly is VERY bad.
The story is meaningless scare tactic propaganda and should be actively ignored.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Thursday October 10 2019, @12:56PM
Whoopsie Daisy I just clicked on the link and its to a known fake news site, LOL of course the story is mere propaganda. Well, that's embarrassing, to have taken a fairy tale seriously.
Well, this fairy tale's math doesn't work out, anyway. Was still fun to run the numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 10 2019, @02:24PM
Lol, you're entire rant hinges on their use of the word "boiling" and thus the entire article is bunk?
You're such a Pyle.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday October 10 2019, @01:49PM (1 child)
In other words, what they discovered is swamp gas. Swamp gas is methane that is burped up by swamps. It has always existed.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday October 10 2019, @02:10PM
It has always existed, and has often been confused with supernatural spirits, and UFO's. Gotta love that swamp gas!