Abstract
Methane (CH4) is the most abundant organic compound in the Earth's atmosphere, where it acts as a greenhouse gas and thus has implications for global climate change. In order to completely understand the effect of methane hydrate melting on the global climate change, we present a theoretical study of the climate response to a massive release of methane from methane hydrates. The results showed that the total contribution to the atmosphere from geologicall sources is estimated to be 45Tg CH4 per year, which would result in a further rise in global temperature to induce the destabilization of hydrates. So the destabilization of gas hydrates is likely to be serious hazards in the near future due to the effects of global warming.
Copyright 2007, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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