Methane emissions discovered in Arctic Ocean

Voice of Russia has just reported the following news:

Methane emissions discovered in Arctic Ocean

 
15.09.2012, 13:34

Photo: RIA Novosti
Russian scientists have discovered spots in the Arctic Ocean where mass emissions of methane can be observed.
According to the press-service of the expedition aboard The Viktor Buinitsky research vessel, the diameter of some of the ‘methane fields’ found in the northern part of the Laptev Sea exceeds 1 kilometre.The new discoveries will help to understand the mechanism of global warming on Earth, experts believe. In their opinion, emissions of methane could have catastrophic consequences for the climate of our planet.

The location of the Laptev Sea is indicated on the Wikipedia map below.



Below, methane level measurements for the period from September 7 to 12, 2012.


For comparison, the image below shows methane level measurements for the period from September 1 to 7, 2012. It shows there was less methane then, particularly in the region north of Siberia.


For more comparisons, see the recent post High September 2012 methane levels.

So, how serious is this? Well, have a look at the poster below (click to enlarge).

For background and for references, see this presentation