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Much is being made of a graph depicting changes in methane concentrations at Barrow Alaska and a recent supposed spike over the last year.
Let's catch our breath for a moment and put this in proper scientific context.
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Let's catch our breath for a moment and put this in proper scientific context.
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(thread)
The 2019 measurements are consistent with the trend over the past decade. Outliers (i.e. isolated data points that lie well above the average) are seen throughout the record. Do not over-interpret them.
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We see in the above graph a slowdown during the 1990s. This is well studied and understood. It has to do with a temporary reduction in wetlands methane emissions during that time: sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/…
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The increased trend over the past decade is also part of a larger trend. It appears to be tied to a rise in anthropogenic emissions (i.e. the rise in natural gas extraction):
e360.yale.edu/features/metha…
There is NO evidence that it is tied to e.g. permafrost methane release!
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e360.yale.edu/features/metha…
There is NO evidence that it is tied to e.g. permafrost methane release!
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That is not to say that we shouldn't worry about the potential for increased methane release from melting permafrost. But there is no evidence to support breathless claims that we have e.g. crossed some "tipping point" with regard to such processes: yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/02/methan…
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Actually, this is a better reference for the science linking the recent uptick in large-scale methane emissions (at least in substantial part) to natural gas extraction/fracking: undark.org/article/methan…
