Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics of Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (6887)	4/4/2009 11:19:13 AM
From: Sam	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86356

Right now it is, for sure. But there are enormous amounts of methane stored in permafrost and in seabeds. All the living things that exist in the ocean--the vast vast majority of them microscopic--drop to the seabed and slowly decompose, releasing methane. The combination of pressure and temperature keeps it locked up down there in frozen clathrates. This has been going on for millions and millions of years. And all the vegetative matter in the permafrost regions does the same. The links I gave in the previous post gives some idea of it. But no one really knows how much there is--we just know that there is an enormous amount of it. And it is very plausible that it will get released as temperatures warm up--but at what temperature? It is one of the feedback loops that I have talked about. Higher temps lead to more permafrost melting and warmer ocean temperatures lead to more methane in the atmosphere lead to higher temps lead to more permafrost melting and warmer ocean temperatures....