Shrinking Arctic glaciers are unearthing a new source of methane
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Aug 2023
Shrinking glaciers in the warming Arctic are exposing bubbling groundwater springs which could provide an underestimated source of the potent greenhouse gas methane according to a new research study.
The new research published in a recent issue of scientific journal Nature Geoscience said these methane emissions will likely increase as Arctic glaciers retreat and more springs are exposed. This, and other methane emissions from melting ice and frozen ground in the Arctic, could exacerbate global warming.
The study, led by researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University Centre in Svalbard, Norway, have identified large stocks of methane gas leaking from groundwater springs unveiled by melting glaciers.
Scientists are concerned that additional methane emissions released by the Arctic thaw could ramp-up human-induced global warming. The springs the researchers studied had not previously been recognised as a potential source of methane emissions.
The methane-delivering springs the research team identified are fed by a plumbing system hidden beneath most glaciers, which taps into large groundwater reserves within the underlying sediments and surrounding bedrock. Once the glaciers melt and retreat, springs appear where this groundwater network punches through to the surface.
The researchers found that methane emissions from glacial groundwater springs across Svalbard could exceed 2,000 tonnes over the course of a year — which equates to roughly 10% of the methane emissions resulting from Norway’s annual oil and gas energy industry. This source of methane will likely become more significant as more springs are exposed. M