It seems that a new climate alarmist group was constituted during the COP20 climate conference in Lima, December 2014. During the inaugural press conference for the AMEG (Arctic Methane Emergency Group) one of the leading scientists used the words "...we have to pray...", as he seemed to believe that all ice in the Arctic Ocean would dissappear by 2015, purposedly due to 'catastrophic methane release' in the Arctic (land and Ocean) areas. See the incredible video here:
http://unfccc6.meta-fusion.com/cop20/events/2014-12-04-12-30-abibimman-foundation-united-planet-faith-science-initiative/abibimman-foundation-united-planet-faith-science-initiative-2
Because I fail to find any substantial reason for such an "Arctic Methane Alarm" in the Scientific literature, I am asking any of my Scientific fellows to enlighten me (us) on what the concerns really are. From my own 35 year long fieldwork on methane seeps both on land and offshore, I know some of them can look really scary (on echosounder records, for example) and as craters and blowout pipes on land. See for example the article Hovland (2013), link below.
Does the AMEG have any preliminary Scientific results they can share?
Chapter The Geomorphology and Nature of Seabed Seepage Processes
Thanks, Ken,
but this is not what the question is about.
1) What you are discussing here, is hydrothermal venting (and not Undersea volcanism), first discovered (witnessed by humans) by Ballard, Corliss, and Rona, when they dove with Alvin to the East Pacific Ridge, in 1977. They telephoned home to the biologists and told them about the long animals living inside some white tubes (e.g., tube-worms, Riftia patcyptilia). The biologists on the other end of the telephone line, thought they were being cheated, as they did not know anything about such animals. It took the biologists 2 extra years to sail out there and document the find, e.g., if you ask a biologist when the new animal kingdom of vent-related chemosynthesis was discovered, -the answer is 1979...!
Today, we know that hot and warm hydrothermal vents occur along most of the world's 55 000 km long spreading zones, and also along off-ridge sites, such as along transform faults etc (Lost City vents, etc).
2) What the AMEG seems to be concerned with are called Cold-vents, and have little to do With undersea volcanism or hot vents. Cold-vents were first described and named by Paull et al., 1985, when they found seeps of sulphur and methane-charged cool water seeping out of the 2000 m high Florida escarpment. Similar vents have been found along plate boundaries and in lakes and on passive margins with thick sedimentary layers. Also, they are common along subduction zones, etc. They occur in a plethora of locations and geological settings as you can see from articles by Erwin Suess and mine, for example, see link below.
It is this type of hydrocarbon vents the AMEG seems to be worrying about. They seem to fear that the vents have become much more active now than they were before. This is what I am asking them about.
Sure, we're doomed,,,Especially if the AMEG and IPCC are right.
But if you ask the green plants on the planet, and the bugs on the seafloor - they're having a ball.
Kenneth,
Please prove that the 1930s were warmer than now! This is probably a fact, but, because it happened before 'reliable instumental record' nobody (that means no living climate specialist) takes this as proof any more. Similarly, you can show climate specialists old pictures of Greenland and Svalbard, where the glaciers are smaller than today, but somehow they don't believe the pictures. Their argument seems to be: "There were no satellites then....".
Thanks a lot, Kenneth, that suffices, as proof. At least for me.
Anyhow, since you mention Norway, I have lived so long that I can also witness that the 1930's were warmer than it is now in SW Norway, even though I was born in 1945. You see, when I was a boy, we raced down to the nearest sandy beach, when the first summer days came, in June. At Sola Strand Hotel, there is a fine beach and there was then, - an out-door swimming pool, which we jumped into, even though we were not visitors of the hotel. We swam there until we were chased by the staff. Then we had to bathe in the cooler North Sea on the proper beach.
You see, this out-door swimming pool was a remnant of warmer summers in the late 1930's, when the hotel was host to British Lords and others from UK, coming over to SW Norway to fish salmon and look at the fjords, etc. However, the swimming pool was filled in with sand during the mid 1960's, when we experienced much cooler summers.
In addition, we know from the local Newspaper, Stavanger Aftenblad (SA), that even in 1915 it must have been much warmer than now. In their subtitle: "100 Years Ago", they had a cute little story about bathers on Sola Beach loosing their money and rings to thieves that had looted the swim-tents on the Beach!? Fancy that swim-tents on Sola Beach. The date of that news item in SA was the 15th of September, 1915! Nobody in their right mind would ever swim on Sola Beach during September now. Not only was it warmer, but the summers must have lasted longer also.
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