Siberian Sea “Boiling” with Methane

In this photo of a sea in the eastern part of Siberia, it certainly appears that something is boiling.  In fact, however, these are bubbles of methane rising to the surface, but they’re actually being released not by evaporation but by the melting of the permafrost that formerly held them in place.

Methane is a greenhouse gas far more potent than CO2.  Direct comparisons between the two are impossible since they leave our atmosphere at different rates.  About 75% of CO2 released into the air dissolves into the ocean over a period of 75 to 200 years.  Methane is removed from the atmosphere by a chemical reaction that lasts 12 years.  Scientists tell us that, all things considered, methane, molecule-for molecule, is about 30 times more harmful than CO2.  Like so many other things, it’s something best left in the ground.