Methane release from warming-induced hydrate dissociation in the West Svalbard continental margin: Timing, rates, and geological controls

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
• Main Authors: Thatcher, K. E., Westbrook, Graham, Sarkar, S., Minshull, T. A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Amer Geophysical Union 2013
• Subjects: methane hydrate; gas emission; Arctic warming; geological controls; thermal history; Arctic; Svalbard; Westbrook; Climate change; Methane hydrate
• Online Access: https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00137/24779/22838.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JB009605; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00137/24779/

Hundreds of plumes of methane bubbles, first observed in 2008, emanate from an area of the seabed off West Svalbard that has become 1 degrees C warmer over the past 30 years. The distribution of the plumes, lying close to and upslope from the present upper limit of the methane hydrate stability zone...