Ancient methane leaking from melting glaciers will likely warm the planet even further

As massive Arctic glaciers melt, a new study finds that million-year-old methane trapped beneath the ice is emerging, with the potential to further warm the planet.

“Glacial retreat is the main driver of gas seepage here,” said Andy Hodson, a glaciologist at the University Center in Svalbard, Norway.

CBS News traveled to the world’s northernmost and fastest-warming community of Svalbard, Norway. What scholars learn there helps Americans understand the changes taking place in the United States. As the Arctic warms, it increases sea levels along our coasts and atmospheric instability that contributes to extreme weather events.

Across Svalbard, a group of islands near the North Pole, Hodson and his colleagues discovered methane flowing through underground springs. as part of researchThey examined 123 springs. They found methane in all but one.

“What escapes is very modest, but what is underneath is very vast,” Hodson said.

Methane budget

Carbon dioxide emissions Cars and factories are the primary driver of climate change and can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. While methane is short-lived in the atmosphere, it is much better at trapping heat.

Primary Sources of methane It comes from fossil fuel production and agriculture. More than 100 countries, including the United States, have signed the agreement Global Methane PledgeIt is a commitment to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030.

But Hodson is concerned that the world’s calculations of how much methane is emitted each year do not include gas from the Arctic.

“If there is a massive natural methane rush about to happen, that will change our planning for methane management,” he said. “It is important whether we commit to responsible management of methane,” he added.

Permafrost, a frozen layer of soil, can trap huge amounts of ancient methane underground. As glaciers recede, space can open up at the edge of the permafrost, which then allows gas to escape.

Disappearance of glaciers

And in Svalbard, the glaciers are really disappearing.

“It’s exciting to see the changes from year to year,” said Jack Koehler, an American glaciologist at the center. Norwegian Polar Institutewhich advises the Norwegian government on changes in the Arctic.

Twice a year, Kohler visits a remote site called Ny Ålesund, home to the world’s northernmost research station. There, he measured a glacier called Kronbreen, one of the largest of Svalbard’s 1,500 glaciers. Over the course of 30 years, he observed Kronbreen retreating by 2.5 miles.

“We are documenting the impact of climate change locally here,” Kohler said. “I have colleagues all over the world who are doing similar things and they are all seeing the same thing,” he added.

At the end of winter, Kohler drives long metal stakes into the Kronbreen ice to check the health of the glacier. It starts near the ice front and works its way back to where it starts.

In the summer, after the warm air temperature melts the ice, he returns to check for dangers. In September of this year, the first stake he examined, which had previously been driven under the ice, was now exposed and showed 8 feet of melting.

“All glaciers lose their ice in one way or another,” he said. “As long as the loss equals what is happening at the top, the geometry of the glacier will remain unchanged.”

But this does not happen. Not only is Kronbreen retreating at the front, but Kohler’s measurements also show that the glacier is not building enough new miles of ice at the top, where it starts.

Svalbard’s warmer summers mean glaciers are now melting faster than they can be replenished in winter, Kohler said.

“The problem is that when there is a reduction in winter precipitation there, this large amount of melting, means there is an overall loss,” Koehler said, standing near the face of the glacier.

Kohler and his colleagues modeled the conditions for future melting of glaciers on Svalbard. In general, they are I finish By 2100, glaciers will be losing ice at a rate twice as fast as they are now.

Take an adventure to Svalbard, Norway On this special interactive web page And learn how climate change is impacting communities across our country, too.

Get to know our experts

Jack Koehler He is a glaciologist who has studied the disappearing glaciers of Svalbard for 27 years for the Norwegian Polar Institute. It’s hard work. At the end of winter, Kohler lands on a glacier by helicopter to drive long stakes deep into the ice. Six months later, after the summer melt season, he returns to record how much risk is now exposed. The larger the stake he can see, the more ice is lost.

Andy Hodson He is a methane hunter. As a professor of glaciology, he documents how ancient methane, trapped deep within the Earth, escapes at the edge of glaciers as they retreat. Hodson and his colleagues at the University Center of Svalbard measured 123 springs around Svalbard, and found methane in all but one. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that 150 countries, including the United States, have pledged to reduce. Hodson is concerned that the methane he found will complicate the effort.