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“When the ice sheets became unstable, they collapsed, releasing
pressure on the clathrates. The clathrates then began to de-gas.”
“‘… an abrupt and catastrophic global warming …”
“Uncovering the methane reservoir could potentially warm the Earth
tens of degrees, he said, and the mechanism could be very rapid.”
“The scientists found the broadest range of oxygen isotopic variation
ever reported from marine sediments, which they attribute to melting
waters in ice sheets as well as destabilization of clathrates by
glacial meltwater.”
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National Science Foundation
Press Release 08-087
<http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111554&org=NSF>
Methane Release Could Cause Abrupt, Far-Reaching Climate Change
May 28, 2008
An abrupt release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from ice
sheets that extended to Earth’s low latitudes some 635 million years
ago caused a dramatic shift in climate, scientists funded by the
National Science Foundation (NSF) report in this week’s issue of the
journal Nature.