Flach- und Tiefenwassergashydrate in Sedimenten polarer Kontinentalränder des Nordatlantiks : geophysikalische Signaturen der Instabilität

• Main Authors: Mienert, Jürgen, Posewang, Jörg
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: German
• Published: Ernst & Sohn 1997
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25990/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25990/1/Mienert.pdf

Destabilization of hydrates from polar continental margins of the North Atlantic are geophysically detectable within hydrate stabilization zones (HSZ). High-frequency seismic surveys of structures and propagations of compressional wave velocities are changing the classic understanding of the hydrate stability zone to an instable one. The results are important in two respects: first, shallow-water gas hydrates can substantially contribute to the transfer of the intensive greenhouse gas methane to the atmosphere, and second, deep-water gas hydrates indicate destabilization processes. These deep-water gas hydrates paly an important role regarding the instability of the continental margins, whereas their influence on the greenhouse effect is probably secondary.