Actions for Contribution of oceanic gas hydrate dissociation to the formation of Arctic Ocean methane plumes [electronic resource].

Email RIS file
Bookmark
Report an Issue

Contribution of oceanic gas hydrate dissociation to the formation of Arctic Ocean methane plumes [electronic resource].

Published
Berkeley, Calif. : Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2011.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Additional Creators
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Access Online

Availability

I Want It
I Want It

Finding items...

Restrictions on Access
Free-to-read Unrestricted online access
Summary
Vast quantities of methane are trapped in oceanic hydrate deposits, and there is concern that a rise in the ocean temperature will induce dissociation of these hydrate accumulations, potentially releasing large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Because methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, such a release could have dramatic climatic consequences. The recent discovery of active methane gas venting along the landward limit of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) on the shallow continental slope (150 m - 400 m) west of Svalbard suggests that this process may already have begun, but the source of the methane has not yet been determined. This study performs 2-D simulations of hydrate dissociation in conditions representative of the Arctic Ocean margin to assess whether such hydrates could contribute to the observed gas release. The results show that shallow, low-saturation hydrate deposits, if subjected to recently observed or future predicted temperature changes at the seafloor, can release quantities of methane at the magnitudes similar to what has been observed, and that the releases will be localized near the landward limit of the GHSZ. Both gradual and rapid warming is simulated, along with a parametric sensitivity analysis, and localized gas release is observed for most of the cases. These results resemble the recently published observations and strongly suggest that hydrate dissociation and methane release as a result of climate change may be a real phenomenon, that it could occur on decadal timescales, and that it already may be occurring.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:lbnl-5145e
lbnl-5145e
Subject(s)
Other Subject(s)
Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
06/01/2011.
"lbnl-5145e"
Journal of Geophysical Research?Oceans 116 C9 ISSN 0148--0227 FT
Elliott, S.; Maltrud, M.; Moridis, G.; Reagan, M.
Earth Sciences Division
Funding Information
DE-AC02-05CH11231
View MARC record | catkey: 14128577