Throughout the day, Lake Esieh in northern Alaska actually shudders. The fact is that this arctic reservoir never freezes. If you stand next to it, you can hear how it hisses. If you watch the lake even longer, it is quite possible to see how it boils with bubbling gas. If you light a fire over it, the lake will give out a column of flame taller than a man's height.
What is the reason
After it became known about such unusual properties of Lake Esie, a large number of scientists became interested in it. They determined that the reason for this was leaking methane vapors that emanate from the permafrost soil.
Thanks to the rise in temperature, which so worries modern scientists, the soil is gradually thawing, and the gas enters the lake through the bottom. According to the researchers, a huge amount of methane seeps through holes in the reservoir every day - more than 2 tons - an amount equal to the emissions of 6,000 dairy cows.
Natural changes
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The thawing of permafrost in the Arctic is of concern to climate scientists. Inside the layers of the earth that existed thousands of years ago, the remains of many plants have been preserved. As a result, the earth has become a trap for greenhouse gases. The rise in temperature releases them and methane is released into the atmosphere.
However, an even greater danger, according to scientists, is the vicious circle launched by this process. The greenhouse gas released from the soil causes the temperature to rise, which in turn only accelerates the thawing of the soil and releases more gas.
The scale of the problem
However, climate scientists today are more focused on exactly how gas emissions are affecting glacier melting, while methane emissions from lakes such as Esie are ignored. Research by scientists has proven that its seepage into Arctic waters can significantly affect ice breakdown. The carbon released by thawing permafrost can accelerate global warming by about 8%.
Further, these indicators can only grow, which is why it is so important to pay attention to all aspects of the problem, and not just to its individual parts.
Author: Masha Frolova