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The Arctic Thaw Could Make Global Warming Worse

from Scientific American

... Katey Walter finds herself center stage in an environmental drama playing out across the frozen north. ... Walter was the first to explain the mysterious methane emissions from Arctic lakes.

She isn't shy about touting their significance as a ticking time bomb. In a complete Arctic thaw, these lakes could discharge a whopping 50 billion tons of methane: 10 times the amount already helping to heat the planet.

Whether a total or more moderate release is in store is still anyone's guess. But pound for pound, methane in the atmosphere traps 25 times more of the sun's heat than CO2 does. Consequently, even a modest thaw of the perennially frozen soil that lies under these ephemeral lakes and caps the dry land around them could trigger a vicious cycle ...