Ever sure we have heard what permafrost is. It is a layer of earth that is permanently frozen and it is even 1.000 meters thick in some places. It is found just below the earth's surface in the arctic regions. This permafrost was formed millions of years ago when ice ages predominated.
Well, at present, Under the influence of humans and global warming, this permafrost is melting. Research has been done on permafrost melting and has concluded that this may be reaching the point that it triggers runaway climate change, unless we find other ways to intervene.
The permafrost problem
Permafrost is melting due to global warming and, apart from the problems that it causes to the species that live in it and the entire related ecosystem, the great problem it has for the planet, is that it contains large amounts of stored methane that could be released into the atmosphere if it finally melts completely.
We remember that methane gas is a natural gas that is capable of retaining up to 25 times more heat than carbon dioxide (CO2). As the ice is melting, methane is constantly being released into the atmosphere and, being a greenhouse gas, it further increases global warming.
We cannot stop this process, however, we can try to capture the methane as it is released, since the gas industry you have the technology to do this and join the fight against climate change.
In 2014, scientists also began to discover strange craters in the landscape, which appear to have formed as a result of explosions. It appears that the pressure inside the mounds builds until a huge methane bubble is released with explosive force. This release of methane gas has global consequences, since this gas stores and increases the effects of climate change.
What is the problem with all this? That although the gas industries have the technology to stop this and trap methane gas, since it cannot be commercialized, they do not invest in it. A possible solution would be to at least burn the gas to convert the methane into CO2 which retains much less heat. This would be better environmentally than letting the methane escape. However, all of this activity would have to be fully funded by governments.