Pedology (from Greek: πέδον, pedon, “soil”; and λόγος, logos, “study”) is the study of soils in their natural environment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedology_(soil_study)
Alaska’s permafrost is starting to thaw as the climate warms, and scientists project there will be even greater thawing of the frozen soils in the coming decades, releasing carbon into the atmosphere, and impacting ecological systems and infrastructure. A panel of permafrost experts will unveil new findings about permafrost degradation in Alaska, where permafrost covers…
A reservoir of abiotic methane has been discovered in the Arctic Ocean. This means that there is more of the greenhouse gas trapped under the seabed than previously thought. News: A reservoir of abiotic methane has been discovered in the Arctic Ocean https://cage.uit.no/news/new-source-methane-discovered-arctic-ocean/ Study: Abiotic methane from ultraslow-spreading ridges can charge Arctic gas hydrates http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/early/2015/03/27/G36440.1.full.pdf+html?ijkey=tNRcKxKHNcG5s&keytype=ref&siteid=gsgeology…
ARCTIC-WISE: Bridging Northern Knowledges of Change Subsea Permafrost and the Methane Cycle on the Siberian Continental Shelf: Predictive Modelling for Climate Change David Archer, Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 5-6:30 pm A numerical model called SpongeBOB is used to simulate the hydrology and methane cycle on the Siberian continental shelf. Lowered…
Widespread seafloor gas release from the seabed offshore the West Yamal Peninsula, suggests that permafrost has degraded more significantly than previously thought. Gas is released in an area of at least 7500 km2 in water depths >20 m.((Offshore permafrost decay and massive seabed methane escape in water depths >20 m at the South Kara Sea shelf | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50735/abstract | Alexey Portnov,…
Climate State interviewed Bill McGuire, Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences at the University College London, one of Britain’s leading volcanologists and contributing author to the 2011 IPCC report. He called for an early tsunami warning system (2004, The Guardian) and warned in his book The Waking Giant, of the Earth response (more earthquakes, tsunamis and…
The preliminary results from scientists studying the mysterious holes (craters), that began emerging in recent times in Siberia, indicate that climate change may be a cause. The Russian crater research team led by Alexei Plekhanov of the Scientific Centre of Arctic Studies, explained a possible mechanism, in a Nature interview. The past two summers were…
Recently a mysterious Siberian crater has been discovered, which subsequently raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the crater formation. Theories include Pingo formation and connections to the thawing of permafrost (ClimateState reported). Robert Scribbler, summed it up: One theory on the feature is that it might be a pingo — a melting of a permafrost water pocket…
Professor Peter Ward (Professor, Sprigg Institute of Geobiology, The University of Adelaide) explains the interconnections of rising carbon dioxide levels and flood basalt, and how it leads to anoxic oceans (with Hydrogen sulfide). Ward explains how today’s CO2 levels will result in sea level rise with disrupting implications for crops and how deglaciation will ultimately…
Evidence indicates that the Jamal sink hole (Siberia) has been caused by permafrost thaw, still under investigation. New footage (July, 18 2014) shows the crater in more detail, and Dan Miller explains the interconnections of climate change and permafrost. Anna Kurchatova: Siberia’s frozen soil — known as permafrost — contains millions of tons of methane…
Salon: According to Anna Kurchatova, with the Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Centre, the hole could have to do with the thawing of Siberia’s permafrost, a consequence of global warming. The rapid release of gas previously trapped in the ice, she said, could have combined with sand beneath the surface to form an underground explosion. The Siberian…
Introduction to Methane Hydrate “Methane Hydrates and Contemporary Climate Change” (2011) IDENTIFICATION This post “A Mechanism for Shallow Methane Hydrate Dissociation”, explores possible mechanism which could release vast quantities of shallow Methane Hydrate into the ocean and atmosphere. CH4 Release The following studies explore the release of CH4 emissions in the Arctic region. OBSERVATION…
New York Times: Scientist, Candidate and Planet Earth’s Lifeguard Barry Commoner, a founder of modern ecology and one of its most provocative thinkers and mobilizers in making environmentalism a people’s political cause. Wikipedia