On the morning of March 12, 2020, peak methane levels were as high as 2902 ppb (parts per billion) at a pressure level of 469 mb (millibars, equivalent to an altitude of some 6 km (almost 20,000 feet).
What did cause this very high peak? The image on the right shows the situation at 695 mb.High levels of methane, colored in magenta, show up over the oceans at high latitudes north, especially around Greenland and around Svalbard.
The image underneath on the right shows methane even closer to sea level, at 1000 mb. At this altitude, such magenta-colored high levels of methane only show up over an area in between Greenland and Svalbard.
It appears that these high methane levels did originate from this area. What could have triggered this?
The image below shows that an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale hit an area in between Greenland and Svalbard on March 11, 2020, at 21:30:03 (UTC), 2020, at depth of 10 km.
It appears that the earthquake did cause destabilization of sediments at the seafloor of the Arctic Ocean in between Greenland and Svalbard, containing methane in the form of hydrates and free gas, with the destabilization resulting in the eruption of methane that subsequently reached the atmosphere.
The next question is if there was something that triggered the earthquake. The image below shows a forecast for March 22, 2020, of conditions in the stratosphere at 10 hPa. Temperatures as high as 6.2°C or 43.2°F are forecast, and as low as -68.8°C or -91.9°F at another location, with wind reaching speeds as high as 369 km/h or 229 mph.
This indicates a strong updraft, carrying huge amounts of relatively warm air from low altitudes over the Arctic up into the stratosphere.While Arctic sea ice extent is a bit larger than it was in previous years at this time of year, sea ice thickness is at a record low for the time of year.
These conditions may have acted as a sink plunger, triggering the earthquake and destabilizing sediments at the seafloor, resulting in the methane eruptions.
More generally, the events reflect a huge and growing overall imbalance in the temperature of the atmosphere, and the added methane releases further contribute to this imbalance.
The situation is dire and calls for immediate, comprehensive and effective action, as described in the Climate Plan.
Links
• Arctic Ocean January 2020
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2020/02/arctic-ocean-february-2020.html
• Climate Plan
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/climateplan.html
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