Seeping methane is driving a global warming feedback loop.
Some Arctic lakes are starting to look like witches’ cauldrons.
The above video shows an increasingly common site in northern latitudes. As global warming heats these areas up, the frozen ground is melting. And when permafrost turns from solid ground to looser mud, it releases gases that have been trapped inside.
The world’s permafrost holds an estimated 950 billion tons of carbon. As it thaws, 50 billion tons of methane could enter the atmosphere from Siberian lakes alone.
“That’s ten times more methane than the atmosphere holds right now,” Walter Anthony said. “Since methane traps heat so efficiently, temperatures will rise higher, faster.”
Read more http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/bubbling-lakes-methane-seeps-alaska/