CO2 rise continues, but check out methane

… Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, warming the planet 25 times more, molecule-for-molecule, than CO2. It doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere, which tempers its kick, but it’s still enough to give you nightmares.

As Fred Pearce has reported, thawing Arctic permafrost could give off massive amounts of methane, which would warm the planet. Permafrost is basically frozen mud, and when it thaws, microbes start chewing it up, emitting both methane and CO2, the amounts depending on the temperature, how wet it is, and other factors.

Either way, the released greenhouse gases could cause a positive feedback, with the thawing releasing greenhouse gases, which cause more heating, which cause more thawing… Which is enough to give me nightmares. With the recent increase in methane, we might be seeing the very beginning of this process, but at this point it’s hard to say.

NOAA Interactive Atmospheric Data Grapher