Originally published on July 30, 2013

A new study suggests earthquakes may contribute to global warming by releasing greenhouse gas from the ocean floor. The study, conducted by German and Swiss scientists, estimates that enormous quantities of methane are locked in icy structures called hydrates on the floors of the continental shelves of the Earth.

Methane is a greenhouse gas, 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, but less abundant in the atmosphere. The researchers discovered that an earthquake that happened in 1945 in the North Arabian sea released more than seven million cubic metres of methane into the sea.

A conservative estimate featured in their paper, which appeared in the journal Nature Geoscience, indicated that roughly 7.4 million cubic metres of methane had escaped, thereby contributing to global warming. Chemical signs of a large-scale methane release were shown by analysis of North Arabian Sea sediments in 2007.

Warmer oceans seas could release even more methane by possibly causing icy hydrates to dissolve, according to experts cited by Nature World News. A prior study found that a massive release of methane in the ocean roughly 183 million years ago, led to the extinction of numerous marine organisms.

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