News From the Field
Large Methane Release Could Cause Abrupt Climate Change, as Happened 635 Million Years Ago

May 28, 2008

An abrupt release of methane about 635 million years ago from ice sheets caused a dramatic shift in climate, triggering a series of events that effectively ended the last "snowball" ice age, a study led by Martin Kennedy of the University of California, Riverside, reports. According to the study, methane clathrate destabilization acted as a runaway feedback to increased warming, and was the tipping point that ended the last snowball Earth. Full Story

Source
University of California - Riverside

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