Arctic Shelf Region Holds Vast Stores of Frozen Methane
Arctic Shelf Region Holds Vast Stores of Frozen Methane Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are studying the East Siberian Arctic Shelf region and finding the seafloor there holds vast stores of frozen methane and is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas.
In this video University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist Natalia Shakhova discusses the East Siberian Arctic Shelf area.
A section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas. Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover, with predominantly treeless permafrost (permanently frozen underground ice) containing tundra. Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places. The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth’s ecosystems.
Through this bid, Russia is claiming 1.2 million square kilometers (over 463,000 square miles) of Arctic sea shelf extending more than 350 nautical miles (about 650 kilometers) from the shore. In February 2016 additional data was submitted by Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergey Donskoy. ArcticShelf enables schools and workplaces to solve the challenges of unsanitary community fridges, expensive and unhealthy dining options, and inconvenient and unreliable thermal lunch coolers.
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