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Methane hydrate dissociation off Spitsbergen not caused by climate change

Jan 8, 2018
Study identifies post-glacial processes as main reason
After hav­ing been re­covered by the deck crew, sea floor drill rig MARUM-MeBo slides on a rail sys­tem to its po­s­i­tion on deck for un­load­ing of the core bar­rels. Photo: MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; G. Bohr
After hav­ing been re­covered by the deck crew, sea floor drill rig MARUM-MeBo slides on a rail sys­tem to its po­s­i­tion on deck for un­load­ing of the core bar­rels. Photo: MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; G. Bohrmann

For years, methane emissions from the seabed have been observed in the Arctic Ocean off Spitsbergen. The assumption that the warming of seawater by climate change is responsible for the release of methane, has not been confirmed. Research from an international team shows that post-glacial uplift is the most likely cause of methane hydrate break-down. The study is now published in the international journal Nature Communications.

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Sea floor drill rig MARUM-MeBo

 

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In the MeBo control container, the drilling process on the seabed is controlled via video transmission. Photo: MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; G. Bohrmann
In the MeBo control container, the drilling process on the seabed is controlled via video transmission. Photo: MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; G. Bohrmann

Original publication:

Wallmann, K., M. Riedel, W. L. Hong, H. Patton, A. Hubbard, T. Pape, C.W. Hsu, C. Schmidt, J. E. Johnson, M. E. Torres, K. Andreassen, C. Berndt, and G. Bohrmann, 2017: Gas Hydrate Dissociation off Svalbard Induced by Isostatic Rebound rather than Global Warming. Nature Communication, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02550-9

 

 

White lay­ers of meth­ane hy­drate ap­pear par­al­lel to sed­i­ment lay­er­ing. Photo: MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; G. Bohrmann
White lay­ers of meth­ane hy­drate ap­pear par­al­lel to sed­i­ment lay­er­ing. Photo: MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; G. Bohrmann