The researchers said that the study findings could help in predicting and addressing the impact of methane on our changing climate
Researchers from Newcastle University, UK, have discovered that climate change could potentially release significant amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, previously trapped under oceans.
The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, reveals that as frozen methane hydrate (a structure similar to ice) melts due to warming oceans, methane is released into the water and atmosphere.
Contrary to previous beliefs that methane hydrates were not vulnerable to climatic warming, the research shows that some of these structures are indeed susceptible. The process involves methane moving from the deepest parts of the continental slope to the edge of the underwater shelf as the frozen methane and ice melt.
The study, focusing on the hydrate stability zone deeper underwater off the coast of Mauritania in Northwest Africa, used seismic imaging techniques. The researchers found that the released methane had migrated about 40 kilometres and was released through underwater depressions called pockmarks during past warm periods.
Lead author Richard Davies highlighted the significance of this discovery, stating, "Scientists had previously thought this hydrate was not vulnerable to climatic warming, but we have shown that some of it is." The research challenges the earlier focus on areas with a small portion of global methane hydrates, emphasising the need to understand the role of hydrates in the climate system.
Christian Berndt, Head of the Research Unit Marine Geodynamics at GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany, emphasised the importance of the findings, stating, "The new data clearly show that far larger volumes of methane may be liberated from marine hydrates, and we really have to get to the bottom of this to understand better the role of hydrates in the climate system."
The study's findings not only shed light on the vulnerability of marine hydrates to climate change but also provide insights that could aid in predicting and addressing the impact of methane on our changing climate.