Scientists Detect Massive Methane Leaks In Antarctica, Raising Climate Concerns

A team of Spanish scientists have discovered large methane gas emissions from the Antarctica seabed, raising serious concerns about climate change and potential underwater landslides.

The findings come from a recent expedition aboard the Spanish research vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa, which explored the Pacific margin of the Antarctica Peninsula- one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth.

Methane in Antarctica is trapped in methane hydrates-solid, ice-like formations created from organic matter buried for over 20,000 years beneath the ocean floor.

These hydrates remain stable under high pressure and low temperatures but are now destabilising due to two major factors: rising ocean temperatures and post-glacial rebound.

Post-glacial rebound occurs when the weight of melting ice sheets decreases, causing the land to rise and reduce pressure on the seabed, which leads to the release of methane.

Geologist Roger Urgeles, who led the expedition alongside Ricard…

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