"I've got it!"
Just as the bridge crew was puzzling over the mystery, Dr. Arthur Lambert suddenly shouted from his station. "I have a theory, hear me out!"
"What if this primitive civilization accidentally triggered a massive leak while mining combustible ice—methane hydrate, from the ocean floor!"
"Or maybe it was a natural disaster, like a massive earthquake or an underwater volcanic eruption, that caused a huge release of seafloor methane..."
"That would explain it perfectly! Releasing that much methane into the air directly aligns with the atmospheric data and the severe greenhouse effect we've detected!"
Jason nodded in agreement; this closely mirrored his own suspicions.
"As we all know, molecule for molecule, methane has a greenhouse effect roughly 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide! And this planet's atmosphere has vastly higher concentrations of both compared to old Earth."
