METRO: Overview

Within the research initiative METRO an interdisciplinary team of scientists will investigate the origin, the distribution, the structure, and the dynamics of shallow gas and gas hydrate. Special attention will be directed to the interaction of gas and gas hydrate with the sediments and the overlying water column. The Black Sea provides excellent conditions for these investigations being the world's largest anoxic basin and the largest surface reservoir of dissolved methane. Methane seeps and gas hydrates are well known in this marginal sea. A total of three research cruises and many laboratory tests are scheduled during the project to increase the knowledge about the role of methane in the worldwide carbon cycle. Tools of utmost importance for our research are coring tools equipped with pressure chambers (autoclave technology), the computerized tomography (SP1) and the newly developed gas-tight containers for laboratory experiments (SP2). These tools are essential for direct measurements of gas hydrates and total gas volumes at in-situ conditions and in experiments that rely on pressure and temperature. Further investigations round of the project including: video-guided and acoustic measurements for seafloor mapping and characterization (SP3); pore water investigations and measurements of the biogeochemical turnover rates (SP4).