Joint Russian-American expedition found a large release of methane in the Eastern Arctic in the north of the Bering Sea and the Laptev Sea. According to Professor Igor Semiletov, which is the leader of the expedition, the methane in large quantities in the ocean comes from the cracks in the crust on the bottom, a sign of amplification of seismic activity in the Arctic. Methane emissions result in higher average temperatures in the Arctic, because of what the area is reduced Arctic ice faster, than in any comparable period over the last eight thoUSAnd years. Joint Russian-American expedition sailed on the ship "Akademik Lavrentiev" from Vladivostok, Russia in early September 2011, takes part in the expedition about 28 scientists from Russia and the United States. Until mid-November 2011, scientists will conduct research in the ChUKchi Sea, Bering Sea, East Siberian Sea and the Laptev Sea.