EMERGING CHALLENGES Methane from the Arctic: Global warming wildcard Arctic Climate Feedbacks Methane from Thawing Permafrost Methane from Hydrates Changes in Nature Looking AheadMethane from the Arctic:

• Main Author: Global Warming Wildcard
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; ACIA; Global warming; permafrost
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.420.979; http://www.lter.uaf.edu/pdf/1291_Correll_Hassol_2008.pdf

Warming Arctic temperatures could lead to the release of significant methane emissions from thawing permafrost and marine deposits. Sub-regional scale decreases in reflectivity result from loss of snow cover and advancing shrub and tree lines and lead to more warming, permafrost thaw, and methane release. Feedbacks from sub-regional processes produce more methane emissions that then feed into global scale warming trends. These new findings bring an added sense of urgency to advance climate and energy policy decisions. ARCTIC CLIMATE FEEDBACKS The Arctic, a key component of the global climate system, is warming at nearly twice the rate as the rest of the world. This warming trend, which is already affecting arctic ecosystems and the people who depend upon them, has been closely monitored over recent decades and is projected to continue throughout the 21st century (ACIA 2004, ACIA 2005). Accelerated warming in the Arctic results from the accumulated effects of ‘positive