Scientists have a theory about Siberian craters

[Chardok]

WaPo link

Short version - they're pretty sure the craters were caused by methane gas releases because the premafrost isn't so perma or frosty anymore on account of a rise in temperature.

The impact of methane gas release on a large scale is significant - it's a pretty kick-ass greenhouse gas. Here's my dumbass question - Why don't we find where these reserviors of methane are and either tap them to use for energy or...hell, drop a match on it? Earth shattering ka-boom, neat fireworks, methane gone. That's how that works, right? you light it and it goes away. That's what happens when I light my farts so.....

[Elheru Aran]

Somehow, I suspect the Russians are not terribly keen on blowing massive holes across a good deal of Siberia. The explosion wouldn't burn up all the methane, either, depending on how efficient it is.

Now, figuring out some way to tap it and use it for energy, that's not such a bad idea... but the problem is it's in bloody Siberia.

[madd0ct0r]

Tapping for energy is pretty fucking difficult.

It's not like deep natural gas, where it's all sealed up in a neat package. You'd have to, i dunno, through a football pitch sized piece of cling wrap over the landscape, and set up a pump at the center to try and pull the methane out. Possibly aided by pumping water into the soil to help warm/displace it. It's not impossible - that kind of wide area vacuum can be used to stabilise weak clays to let you build on them at a faster rate, but in those clays at least you're pumping water and not a highly explosive gas.

as for the 2nd point - lighting it.
yes, burning methane makes water and Carbon dioxide, so the greenhouse gas problem dosen't entirely go away. Methane is far worse as a GHG though (and it breaks down to CO2 eventually anyway) so yep, burning it is better then releasing it pure. Under controlled conditions, it may be possible to do some clever tricks with syngas and burn it and just put the carbon powder back into the earth there.
Just lighting it in the wild has the slight disadvantage of warming/destabilising the soil around it. Instead of a trickle release over a century, you might get all of it in one big bang. That could result in some interesting swings as the global ecosystem adjusts.

[Simon_Jester]

Maddoc, you always know all this cool stuff about soils and things, remind me again what your academic background is?

[madd0ct0r]

Civil engineer by training. Currently working for a project trying to model Bangladesh's energy use out to 2050. from septmeber I'll be working on railway bridges again (hence tricks for building embankments on crap soil)

[Simon_Jester]

Cool! That explains a lot and is awesome.