Arctic: uncertainties in methane link

摘要

We disagree with Gail Whiteman and colleagues that there is "likely" to be a large and sudden release of methane from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (Nature 499,401-403; 2013). Such an event would require an almost 1,000-fold regional increase in methane emissions from thawing permafrost, which would be inconsistent with geological evidence: although the concentration of atmospheric methane rose in response to abrupt warming during recent deglaciations, isotopic methane measurements do not indicate that the gas came from marine gas hydrates during these periods (H. Fischer et ah Nature 452,864-867; 2008).