Impact of tides and sea-level on deep-sea Arctic methane emissions - Université de Bretagne Occidentale
Journal Articles Nature Communications Year : 2020

Impact of tides and sea-level on deep-sea Arctic methane emissions

Nabil Sultan
Andreia Plaza-Faverola
  • Function : Author
Sunil Vadakkepuliyambatta
  • Function : Author
Stefan Buenz
  • Function : Author
Jochen Knies
  • Function : Author

Abstract

Sub-sea Arctic methane and gas hydrate reservoirs are expected to be severely impacted by ocean temperature increase and sea-level rise. Our understanding of the gas emission phenomenon in the Arctic is however partial, especially in deep environments where the access is difficult and hydro-acoustic surveys are sporadic. Here, we report on the first continuous pore-pressure and temperature measurements over 4 days in shallow sediments along the west-Svalbard margin. Our data from sites where gas emissions have not been previously identified in hydro-acoustic profiles show that tides significantly affect the intensity and periodicity of gas emissions. These observations imply that the quantification of present-day gas emissions in the Arctic may be underestimated. High tides, however, seem to influence gas emissions by reducing their height and volume. Hence, the question remains as to whether sea-level rise may partially counterbalance the potential threat of submarine gas emissions caused by a warmer Arctic Ocean.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
s41467-020-18899-3.pdf (20.63 Mo) Télécharger le fichier
Origin Publisher files allowed on an open archive

Dates and versions

hal-03038471 , version 1 (03-12-2020)

Identifiers

Cite

Nabil Sultan, Andreia Plaza-Faverola, Sunil Vadakkepuliyambatta, Stefan Buenz, Jochen Knies. Impact of tides and sea-level on deep-sea Arctic methane emissions. Nature Communications, 2020, 11 (1), ⟨10.1038/s41467-020-18899-3⟩. ⟨hal-03038471⟩
106 View
49 Download

Altmetric

Share

More