Widespread methane seepage along the continental margin off Svalbard - from Bjørnøya to Kongsfjorden
Numerous articles have recently reported on gas seepage offshore Svalbard, because the gas emission from these Arctic sediments was thought to result from gas hydrate dissociation, possibly triggered by anthropogenic ocean warming. We report on findings of a much broader seepage area, extending from...
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ftosti:oai:osti.gov:1361682 2023-07-30T04:01:49+02:00 Widespread methane seepage along the continental margin off Svalbard - from Bjørnøya to Kongsfjorden Mau, S. Romer, M. Torres, M. E. Bussmann, I. Pape, T. Damm, E. Geprags, P. Wintersteller, P. Hsu, C. -W. Loher, M. Bohrmann, G. 2023-06-26 application/pdf http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1361682 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1361682 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42997 unknown http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1361682 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1361682 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42997 doi:10.1038/srep42997 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 2023 ftosti https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42997 2023-07-11T09:19:04Z Numerous articles have recently reported on gas seepage offshore Svalbard, because the gas emission from these Arctic sediments was thought to result from gas hydrate dissociation, possibly triggered by anthropogenic ocean warming. We report on findings of a much broader seepage area, extending from 74° to 79°, where more than a thousand gas discharge sites were imaged as acoustic flares. The gas discharge occurs in water depths at and shallower than the upper edge of the gas hydrate stability zone and generates a dissolved methane plume that is hundreds of kilometer in length. Data collected in the summer of 2015 revealed that 0.02–7.7% of the dissolved methane was aerobically oxidized by microbes and a minor fraction (0.07%) was transferred to the atmosphere during periods of low wind speeds. Most flares were detected in the vicinity of the Hornsund Fracture Zone, leading us to postulate that the gas ascends along this fracture zone. The methane discharges on bathymetric highs characterized by sonic hard grounds, whereas glaciomarine and Holocene sediments in the troughs apparently limit seepage. The large scale seepage reported here is not caused by anthropogenic warming. Other/Unknown Material Arctic Bjørnøya Bjørnøya Hornsund Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) Arctic Svalbard Hornsund ENVELOPE(15.865,15.865,76.979,76.979) Bjørnøya ENVELOPE(-67.250,-67.250,-68.151,-68.151) Scientific Reports 7 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) |
op_collection_id |
ftosti |
language |
unknown |
topic |
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES |
spellingShingle |
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Mau, S. Romer, M. Torres, M. E. Bussmann, I. Pape, T. Damm, E. Geprags, P. Wintersteller, P. Hsu, C. -W. Loher, M. Bohrmann, G. Widespread methane seepage along the continental margin off Svalbard - from Bjørnøya to Kongsfjorden |
topic_facet |
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES |
description |
Numerous articles have recently reported on gas seepage offshore Svalbard, because the gas emission from these Arctic sediments was thought to result from gas hydrate dissociation, possibly triggered by anthropogenic ocean warming. We report on findings of a much broader seepage area, extending from 74° to 79°, where more than a thousand gas discharge sites were imaged as acoustic flares. The gas discharge occurs in water depths at and shallower than the upper edge of the gas hydrate stability zone and generates a dissolved methane plume that is hundreds of kilometer in length. Data collected in the summer of 2015 revealed that 0.02–7.7% of the dissolved methane was aerobically oxidized by microbes and a minor fraction (0.07%) was transferred to the atmosphere during periods of low wind speeds. Most flares were detected in the vicinity of the Hornsund Fracture Zone, leading us to postulate that the gas ascends along this fracture zone. The methane discharges on bathymetric highs characterized by sonic hard grounds, whereas glaciomarine and Holocene sediments in the troughs apparently limit seepage. The large scale seepage reported here is not caused by anthropogenic warming. |
author |
Mau, S. Romer, M. Torres, M. E. Bussmann, I. Pape, T. Damm, E. Geprags, P. Wintersteller, P. Hsu, C. -W. Loher, M. Bohrmann, G. |
author_facet |
Mau, S. Romer, M. Torres, M. E. Bussmann, I. Pape, T. Damm, E. Geprags, P. Wintersteller, P. Hsu, C. -W. Loher, M. Bohrmann, G. |
author_sort |
Mau, S. |
title |
Widespread methane seepage along the continental margin off Svalbard - from Bjørnøya to Kongsfjorden |
title_short |
Widespread methane seepage along the continental margin off Svalbard - from Bjørnøya to Kongsfjorden |
title_full |
Widespread methane seepage along the continental margin off Svalbard - from Bjørnøya to Kongsfjorden |
title_fullStr |
Widespread methane seepage along the continental margin off Svalbard - from Bjørnøya to Kongsfjorden |
title_full_unstemmed |
Widespread methane seepage along the continental margin off Svalbard - from Bjørnøya to Kongsfjorden |
title_sort |
widespread methane seepage along the continental margin off svalbard - from bjørnøya to kongsfjorden |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1361682 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1361682 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42997 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(15.865,15.865,76.979,76.979) ENVELOPE(-67.250,-67.250,-68.151,-68.151) |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Hornsund Bjørnøya |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Hornsund Bjørnøya |
genre |
Arctic Bjørnøya Bjørnøya Hornsund Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Bjørnøya Bjørnøya Hornsund Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard |
op_relation |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1361682 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1361682 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42997 doi:10.1038/srep42997 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42997 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1772812565451112448 |