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Ancient methane 'burp' points to climate change 110 million years ago
[CBC.CA] New research suggests a large amount of methane was released in the Arctic Ocean during a period of warming 110 million years ago and the methane "burp" points to the possibility of a similar release in today's warming conditions. [Gag!] "What is that smell?" The discovery happened in the remote High Arctic, on Ellef Ringnes Island, about 500 kilometres north of Resolute, Nunavut. During the Cretaceous period, 55 million years before the dinosaurs disappeared,
[Barf!] "It smells like the earth just farted!" Suddenly, from under the mud, bubbles of methane began to emerge as frozen deposits began to thaw. "I think... I think I'm going extinct!" The bubbles left traces in the form of over 130 mounds that persist on the island today, complete with fossils of life that formed around the methane seeps. [Rosebud!] "There must have been some brief, rapid release into the ocean," explained Steve Grasby, one of the researchers who visited the island between 2009 and 2011. "Because we don't see them in the older rocks and we don't see them in the younger rocks. So something must have happened in the Earth's history at that time to release a bunch of methane into the sea," he said. Posted by: Fred 2017-04-25 |
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