How an ancient methane 'blow-out' caused massive craters in the ocean
 

How an ancient methane 'blow-out' caused massive craters in the ocean
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The Arctic sea floor was once like a pressure cooker, with methane gas building, building, building beneath an ice sheet for thousands of years. But when the ice eventually melted, the lid suddenly burst off, unleashing e**rmous amounts of methane and forming deep craters.

Some 12,000 years later, the craters are still profusely leaking methane — a potent greenhouse gas and a major contributor to global warming. While scientists have k**wn about pockmarks since the 1990s, a new study shows the craters cover a much larger area than previously thought.

SEE ALSO: What we do in the next 5 years will determine the fate of the melting Arctic Read more...


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