Warmer Pacific Ocean Could Release Millions of Tons of Seafloor Methane
![Sonar image of bubbles rising from the seafloor off the Washington coast. The base of the column is 1/3 of a mile (515 meters) deep and the top of the plume is at 1/10 of a mile (180 meters) deep.Brendan Philip / UW Warmer Pacific Ocean Could Release Millions of Tons of Seafloor Methane](https://alaska-native-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/image18-12-2014-01.05.50.jpg)
Off the West Coast of the United States, methane gas is trapped in frozen layers below the seafloor. New research from the University of Washington shows that water at intermediate depths is warming enough to cause these carbon deposits to melt, releasing methane into the sediments and surrounding water. Researchers found that water off the […]