Greenhouse gas crisis, 55 million years ago

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Greenhouse gas crisis, 55 million years ago
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
03 June 2004 
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/environment/story.jsp?story=527681


Undersea Volcanoes released stupendous amounts of greenhouse gases 55 million 
years ago, causing a cataclysmic change in the world's climate.

Scientists warn that the dramatic climate change which happened during that 
period could be a model for a similar disaster in the coming centuries as a 
result of man-made global warming.

The earth 55 million years ago was already a warmer place than it is now when 
it suddenly became much warmer - by between 5C and 10C - for unknown reasons.

Henrik Svensen and collea-gues from University of Oslo believe they have found 
the cause of the sudden release of the gases. In a study published in the 
journal Nature, they identified thousands of volcanic vents under the Atlantic 
Ocean which they believe erupted, releasing 1,500 billion tons of carbon in an 
instant and triggering one of the hottest periods in the history of life on 
Earth.

Vast quantities of methane are still trapped under the sea in the form of a 
semi-solid gas hydrates. Although they represent an untapped reservoir of 
potential energy, they are highly unstable and sudden melting could trigger a 
greenhouse effect.