Bog may hold climate change clues
Reuters
By Michael Kahn Reuters - Wednesday, September 19 07:36 pm
Quote:
LONDON (Reuters) - An ancient bog that pumped out high amounts of greenhouse gases during a period of global warming 55 million years ago may offer clues about future climate change, researchers said on Wednesday.
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The researchers looked at molecular fossils that came from bacteria and found that as temperatures rose, the organisms switched to a diet of methane -- probably because there was more of it around, Pancost said.
"Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas," he said. "So if the processes at (the bog) were widespread, then the increase in methane emissions could have caused further warming, amplifying the climate change at this time."
The bog became part of a vicious cycle -- warmer temperatures caused higher emissions of methane, which drove temperatures even higher, he said.
"The main event made it warmer and wetter," Pancost said. "What we are talking about is a response to the system."
The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Nature, cautioned that the data was only from a single site but said it nevertheless shows how some ecosystems might respond to rapid climate change in the future.
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