Methane Hydrates in Quaternary Climate Change

Download or read book Methane Hydrates in Quaternary Climate Change written by James P. Kennett and published by American Geophysical Union. This book was released on 2003-01-10 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent discoveries from ice-core and marine sediments suggest that global climate systems can change from glacial to near-interglacial temperatures within decades. In order to explain this phenomenon, the authors (all affiliated with the Department of Geological Sciences, U. of California) advance a hypothesis that suggests that the massive energy needed for these changes came for the release of "frozen" methane hydrates (clathrates) stored in marine sediments on continental margins. They argue that the release of the methane caused feedback processes that would explain the surprisingly rapid changes. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.