{"id":184748,"date":"2010-01-15T10:12:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-15T15:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/global-warming-ice-melt-reveals-unexpected-methane-danger-2010-1"},"modified":"2010-01-15T10:12:00","modified_gmt":"2010-01-15T15:12:00","slug":"how-melting-ice-caps-will-put-the-earths-climate-into-a-permanent-warming-cycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/184748","title":{"rendered":"How Melting Ice Caps Will Put The Earth’s Climate Into A Permanent Warming Cycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Whoops.<\/p>\n

A new study says the real danger of rising temperatures in the arctic is the release of methane gas locked in the permafrost.<\/p>\n

Methane levels in the artic rose by almost one-third in the past five years. As methane is a far more powerful greenhouse agent than carbon dioxide, the discovery signifies a huge blow to climate change prevention.<\/p>\n

Guardian<\/a>: The discovery follows a string of reports from the region in recent years that previously frozen boggy soils are melting and releasing methane in greater quantities. Such Arctic soils currently lock away billions of tonnes of methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, leading some scientists to describe melting permafrost as a ticking time bomb that could overwhelm efforts to tackle climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They fear the warming caused by increased methane emissions will itself release yet more methane and lock the region into a destructive cycle that forces temperatures to rise faster than predicted.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Palmer said it was a “disgrace” that so few satellites were launched to monitor levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.<\/p>\n

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