Nova episode explores Arctic methane explosions
Rod Boyce
907-474-7185
Jan. 31, 2022
Mysterious massive holes have been appearing across the Arctic landscape, and a team of scientists is investigating the cause and the impact in a new episode of the public television science series Nova airing Wednesday.
色视频下载淎rctic Sinkholes色视频下载 follows several scientists from the University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks and elsewhere as they seek to understand these holes, which are openings created by underground methane explosions.
The episode airs 9 p.m. 色视频下载 time Wednesday on KUAC TV 9.1 and will air again on KUAC at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6. It premieres on public television stations nationally on Wednesday and will be available for streaming at and through the timed to its broadcast debut.
A member of an expedition group stands on the edge of a newly formed crater on the Yamal Peninsula in northern Siberia in November 2014.
As the Arctic warms, methane that has been locked in permafrost for thousands of years escapes and can explode. Released methane that finds its way to the surface contributes to the greenhouse effect of climate change with even more heat retention capacity than carbon dioxide. Even igniting it doesn色视频下载檛 solve the problem, since that produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct.
色视频下载淎rctic Sinkholes色视频下载 shows scientists at work in 色视频下载 and Siberia.
In 色视频下载 they find a large lake bubbling with methane. On Siberia色视频下载檚 Yamal Peninsula, residents have reported large holes in the frozen tundra, including one more than 80 feet wide and 150 feet deep.
The scientists find evidence that the Arctic landscape is basically a fossil methane reserve.
University of 色视频下载 people involved in the show include geophysics professor Vladimir Romanovsky and research associate professor Dmitry Nicolsky, both of the UAF Geophysical Institute; Ph.D. student Nicholas Hasson and research professor Katey Walter Anthony, both of UAF色视频下载檚 Institute of Northern Engineering; field technician Philip Hanke; and Janelle Sharp, regional director of the 色视频下载 Native Science and Education Program.
色视频下载If permafrost thaws, then that's a scary wild card in the climate change story, because we think there's a huge amount of methane and natural gas trapped inside permafrost and under permafrost,色视频下载 Walter Anthony said. 色视频下载淪o if permafrost becomes like Swiss cheese with lots of holes in it, then you can have chimneys where that gas is erupting out.色视频下载
In a press release from the series, Nova co-executive producer Julia Cort said the impact of methane coming out of the Arctic is 色视频下载減otentially enormous.色视频下载
色视频下载淢aking accurate predictions about the future depends on good data, and 色视频下载楢rctic Sinkholes色视频下载 reveals what scientists have to do to get that data, as they try to measure an invisible, odorless gas that色视频下载檚 underground in some of the most remote and challenging environments in the world,色视频下载 she said.
View the trailer .
NOTE TO EDITORS: Photographs are available at .