ON THE MECHANISM OF DESTRUCTION OF ICE FILMS OF METASTABLE GAS HYDRATES AND ITS POSSIBLE APPLICATION TO THE PROCESS OF METHANE EMISSION IN THE ARCTIC

The release of methane deposits in the Arctic, which is bound in the form of gas hydrates, can accelerate global warming. The threat of increasing methane content in the atmosphere is associated with the decomposition of gas hydrates located in the sedimentary layer in a metastable state. The authors formulate destruction mechanisms that can affect the dissociation of natural gas hydrates and assess the risks of possible gas emissions during the advancement of slow tectonic waves. They have studied the instability of moving granules of the sedimentary strata and obtained the condition for the bifurcation of the micropolar continuum, which may be associated with the emission of methane from zones of accumulation of metastable relict gas hydrates.

Comment of the editorial board of the journal “Arctic: Ecology and Economy”.

According to the reviewers and the editorial board, the article is debatable, hypothetical in nature without reference to real natural conditions and without an evidence-based experimental base. At the same time, the proposed hypothesis has the right to exist and subsequent scientific discussion. In this regard, the editorial board decided to publish the article taking into account this comment.

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