Arctic methane emissions

Whilst the Arctic region is one of many natural sources of the greenhouse gas methane, there is nowadays also a human component to this due to the effects of climate change.

[3] When permafrost thaws due to global warming, large amounts of organic material can become available for methanogenesis and may therefore be released as methane.

[19] Land ecosystems are thought to be the main sources of this asymmetry, although it has been suggested in 2007 that "the role of the Arctic Ocean is significantly underestimated.

[21][22] Large quantities of methane are stored in the Arctic in natural gas deposits, permafrost, and as undersea clathrates.

[31] Global warming in the Arctic accelerates methane release from both existing stores and methanogenesis in rotting biomass.

[35] Since methanogenesis requires anaerobic environments, it is frequently associated with Arctic lakes, where the emergence of bubbles of methane can be observed.

[39] Another process which frequently results in substantial methane emissions is the erosion of permafrost-stabilized hillsides and their ultimate collapse.

[42] Nevertheless, a study from 2018, by using field observations, radiocarbon dating, and remote sensing to account for thermokarst lakes, determined that abrupt thaw will more than double permafrost carbon emissions by 2100.

[49] One of the researchers noted, "The expectation is that with further sea ice decline, temperatures in the Arctic will continue to rise, and so will methane emissions from northern wetlands.

"[50] A 2014 study found evidence for methane cycling below the ice sheet of the Russell Glacier, based on subglacial drainage samples which were dominated by Pseudomonadota bacteria.

Scaled dissolved methane flux during the four months of the summer melt season for the Russell Glacier catchment area (1200 km2) was estimated at 990 tonnes CH4.

[62] A study in 2016 concluded that methane clathrates may exist below Greenland's and Antarctica's ice sheets, based on past evidence.

[10] Within the fossil fuel sector, oil and gas extraction, processing, and distribution contribute 23%, while coal mining accounts for 12% of these emissions.

[9] ARPA-E has funded a research project from 2021-2023 to develop a "smart micro-flare fleet" to burn off methane emissions at remote locations.

Main sources of global methane emissions (2008-2017): [ 1 ] Contributions from the Arctic are part of the fifth column called other natural emissions .
Methane concentrations in Utqiaġvik, Alaska (formerly known as Barrow). A peak methane concentration of 1988 parts per billion was reached in October 2019. [ 11 ]
Image showing thawed permafrost resulting in thermokarst , a source of methane released from permafrost.
PMMA chambers used to measure methane and CO 2 emissions in Storflaket peat bog near Abisko , northern Sweden .
Carbon cycle accelerates in the wake of abrupt thaw (orange) relative to the previous state of the area (blue, black). [ 32 ]
Methane emissions from thawed permafrost appear to decrease as bog matures over time. [ 45 ]
Methane clathrate is released as gas into the surrounding water column or soils when ambient temperature increases.