A group of Russian and US scientists has launched an expedition to study unprecedented emission of methane gas in the eastern Arctic. The expedition will focus on the sea shelf of the Laptev Sea, the Russian part of the Chukotka Sea and the East Siberian Sea. According to an estimate, 90 percent of underwater permafrost is located there.
The expedition was organised by the Russian fund of Fundamental research and the US National Science Foundation. They took this step after a dramatic increase in the leakage of methane gas from the seabed in the eastern part of the Arctic was registered.
The expedition will study the structure of underwater permafrost with more precision to find the cause behind the increase in the leakage of methane gas. As compared to carbon dioxide, methane traps about 20 times more solar heat.
The Professor, who has been studying methane seepage in the region for the last 15 years, is the coordinator of the International Siberian Shelf Study (ISSS), which has launched a number of expeditions to the Arctic Ocean.
The studies are reaching a more serious level. Many Russian and US universities have joined the ISSS programme, bringing in the most advanced equipment which will allow us to study the structure of underwater permafrost with more precision. Russia's Chukotka and the US State of Alaska have a common sea border across the Bering Strait.
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