Scientists from Earth Sciences New Zealand, University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Tasmania have made a startling discovery in the Ross Sea: over 40 new methane seep sites have popped up in shallow coastal waters near Antarctica! 💨🌍
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat 80 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over 20 years, making these seeps a potential wild card in the climate game. The first seep showed up by chance in 2012, and since then new sites have been emerging at a remarkable pace, says marine scientist Sarah Seabrook. What starts as excitement quickly turns into concern about what this means for our warming world.
These seeps form when methane and other chemicals escape from underground reservoirs, creating streams of bubbles that rise all the way to the surface. Using remotely operated vehicles and daring divers under the ice, the research team explored depths from 5 to 240 meters, discovering dozens of seeps where only one was known before.
Seabrook warns that if seep emergence continues at this rate, the shallow coastal environment of Antarctica could look very different in just five to ten years. Rapid sea ice melt is already making some locations hard to reach, adding pressure to map these sites before they change too much.
With the potential for a sudden surge of methane not yet included in most climate models, this breakthrough is both thrilling and alarming. The team plans to return this season to survey more seeps and track how Antarctica’s icy frontier is evolving right before our eyes.
Reference(s):
Rapid increase of Antarctic methane seeps raises climate concerns
cgtn.com
