Global Warming: The Ocean Might Be Our New Enemy.

Global warming is a worldwide problem that appears to becoming worse every year. In 2006 America experienced its warmest winter to date. Every year about 5.5 billion tons of carbon of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. However, 2 billion tons of the carbon released is assumed to be absorbed in the ocean and in the biosphere.

As temperatures steadily climb scientist look at other sources of energy. In the last two decades, ocean exploration shows an abundant amount of methane hydrate in deep ocean sediments. For over 20 years in Messoyakh, Russia it has been used as a commercial production of gas. Methane hydrates is an ideal fuel because it only releases carbon dioxide and no other harmful pollutants. At the same time the chemical energy in all known methane hydrate is twice the amount than any fossil fuel, which makes it desirable among scientists to be able to exploit this amount of energy.

Even though this maybe more helpful than fossil fuels, the National Science Foundation’s Ocean Deep-drilling Program suggest the ocean may have helped in global warming. Scientist found microscopic methane bubbles that are nutrients for the “methane ice-worm,” which is the foundation for the deep-sea food chain. Although the energy released raises the ocean temperature it also releases carbon dioxide that could escape into the atmosphere. To further prove this idea, many people have been looking closely at the Artic ice melting. Many believe that the atmospheric heat has caused the ice to melt but there is not enough information from satellite remote-sensing data to prove that idea. On the other hand, since 1990 the Atlantic Ocean has become warmer and has been thinning the Artic ice which has caused an increase in the amount of ice that has been melting.

It is know that the United States is the world’s largest consumer of energy (about twenty-five percent). Thanks to Clinton’s Oceans Act in 2000, which does an eighteen month review of all ocean and coastal activities; the United States has begun to find fundamental steps for slowing the process of global warming. At the same time finding safe ways to mine for methane hydrate to be used for fuels in order to prevent large amount of energy from warming up the ocean and atmosphere. A supplement of methane hydrate for oil and coal the US can delay major energy crisis and gain economic benefits from reduced energy imports.

Throughout campuses across America students have been made aware of the dangers of global warming and encouraged to take a stand and try to slow down the process. This article shows what scientists are trying to do as much as possible to find other methods for fuel energy. Although, scientists also know that carbon dioxide and CFC’s are not the only things that cause a rise in temperature. I was surprise to learn that the ocean as has an affect on global warming and causing ice to melt in the Arctic. By watching the news, ocean patterns like the Gulf Stream has caused large amounts of warm water to travel up to the northern pole which has caused a rise in water levels from melted ice. As mention beforehand, a lot of the ice contains methane bubbles that can release carbon dioxide instead of being absorbed by the ocean. For America and the rest of the world we need to look at all causes for global warming in order to stop the process.

Source

Lai, Chung-Chieng A. David E. Dietrich, and Malcolm J. Bowman. “Global warming and the mining of oceanic methane hydrate.” Topics in Catalysis. 32.3–4 (2005): 95-99. http://www.springerlink.com/content/pn31475q37871408/fulltext.pdf