The researchers who've been out in the slushy waters off Siberia have offered some clarity after a lot of media torquing.
December 27, 2011, *12:54 PM*Leaders of Arctic Methane Project Clarify Climate Concerns<http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/leaders-of-arctic-methane-project-clarify-climate-concerns/> By ANDREW C. REVKIN<http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/author/andrew-c-revkin/> I’ve been in touch with Natalia Shakhova<http://www.iarc.uaf.edu/people/nshakhova> and Igor Semiletov <http://www.iarc.uaf.edu/people/igorsm>, the intrepid Russian researchers, based at the International Arctic Research Center in Fairbanks, Alaska, who for more than a decade have been leading an important international project<http://research.iarc.uaf.edu/SSSS/index.php> analyzing methane plumes rising from the seabed<http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_images.jsp?cntn_id=116532&org=NSF> in the shallow Arctic waters spreading north from eastern Siberian shores. (Here’s video of Shakhova<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD8hU-lbqpE&feature=player_embedded#!> describing the methane releases and their work.) As I wrote recently<http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/methane-time-bomb-in-arctic-seas-apocalypse-not/#more-40803>, “Given that methane, molecule for molecule, has at least 20 times the heat-trapping properties of carbon dioxide, it’s important to get a handle on whether these are new releases, the first foretaste of some great outburst from thawing sea-bed stores of the gas, or simply a longstanding phenomenon newly observed.” After their expedition this summer, Shakhova and Semiletov presented their latest observations at the American Geophysical Union fall meeting<http://sites.agu.org/fallmeeting/media-center/virtual-newsroom/> in San Francisco early this month, describing vastly larger methane releases in the mid-outer continental shelf than they had seen before in shallower water, leading to a fresh burst of headlines<http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/shock-as-retreat-of-arctic-sea-ice-releases-deadly-greenhouse-gas-6276134.html> about risks of runaway warming. Shakhova and Semiletov, whose earlier analysis of methane in the region<http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116532> was published in Science<http://www.sciencemag.org/content/327/5970/1246.abstract> last year, had been unavailable for comment when I was preparing my piece, as they had gone on vacation shortly after their presentation. When they were back on the grid they got my e-mail inquiries and saw the post. Their response clarifies their differences with other research groups and emphasizes the importance of critically evaluating scientific findings before rushing to conclusions, either alarming or reassuring. One clear message, which I endorse, is the need to sustain the kind of fieldwork they’re doing. Whether the issue is tracking Arctic methane or American stream flows<http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/irenes-rain-impacts-come-as-u-s-cuts-flood-tracking-technology/>, there’s a vital need for sustained, consistent observations, but — unfortunately — there’s a two-edged bias against such investments, given the appeal of focusing on science’s frontiers and the tendency to target monitoring programs — which are akin to bridge maintenance<http://ascelibrary.org/proceedings/resource/2/ascecp/421/41186/27_1?isAuthorized=no> — when looking to cut budgets. That’s all fine until the bridge groans and buckles, of course. Here is the contribution from Semiletov and Shakhova: Read more…<http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/leaders-of-arctic-methane-project-clarify-climate-concerns/#more-41115> * * *_* * * ANDREW C. REVKIN Dot Earth blogger, The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/dotearth Senior Fellow, Pace Acad. for Applied Env. Studies Cell: 914-441-5556 Fax: 914-989-8009 Twitter: @revkin Skype: Andrew.Revkin -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
