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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThe Washington Post<\/em> reports that<\/a>, thanks to climate change, glaciers on a Norwegian archipelago are retreating rapidly, exposing land that has long been covered by ice. Groundwater on the newly uncovered land is seeping up, and bringing \u201cancient\u201d methane to the surface with it, the Post<\/em> writes. Scientists found high concentrations of methane in 122 of the 123 groundwater springs they measured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not clear exactly how much methane is coming out of these springs, nor is it known how widespread the phenomenon is. But what we do know is scary: Glaciers are receding across the Arctic<\/a> thanks to a warming world<\/a> caused by humans\u2019 slow-cooking of the planet via fossil fuels. And as the glaciers give ground, they open up the possibility of new emissions \u2014 further driving the warming that\u2019s causing the glaciers to retreat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a feedback loop that\u2019s caused by climate change,\u201d Gabrielle Kleber, a climate scientist and the lead author of the glacier methane study, told the Post<\/em>. \u201cGlaciers are retreating due to climate warming, and they are leaving these exposed forefields behind, which are encouraging methane gas to be released.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact that the methane is ancient is troubling, the scientists said, as that suggests it could be coming from massive underground reservoirs. Methane is a more powerful contributor to climate change than carbon dioxide, and so the release of vast reserves is a frightening possibility for people who care about maintaining a hospitable planet for humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n