New Scientist reports on the multiple methane gas plumes that have been observed bubbling up from the ocean floor in the Arctic. Warming ocean currents are thought to be the cause:
Over 250 plumes of gas have been discovered bubbling up from the sea floor to the west of the Svalbard archipelago, which lies north of Norway. The bubbles are mostly methane, which is a greenhouse gas much more powerful than carbon dioxide.
The methane is probably coming from reserves of methane hydrate beneath the sea bed. These hydrates, also known as clathrates, are water ice with methane molecules embedded in them.
Of the plumes observed, the methane seldom reaches the surface. It dissolves on the way up.
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, is now the dominant ozone-depleting substance emitted by humans – and is likely to remain so throughout the century, a new study suggests.
Sounds as though every time we laugh, we’re emitting a noxious gas. OK, maybe not that, but it sounds as though somehow we’re all emitting gas. But read a little into the story and discover the author is referring to the breakdown of agricultural fertilizers and sewage plant emissions, etc., not the orifices of humans.
The Year In Review Dec 30 PDF edition (
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