Abstract
Remobilization to the atmosphere of only a small fraction of the methane held in East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) sediments could trigger abrupt climate warming, yet it is believed that sub-sea permafrost acts as a lid to keep this shallow methane reservoir in place. Here, we show that more than 5000 at-sea observations of dissolved methane demonstrates that greater than 80% of ESAS bottom waters and greater than 50% of surface waters are supersaturated with methane regarding to the atmosphere. The current atmospheric venting flux, which is composed of a diffusive component and a gradual ebullition component, is on par with previous estimates of methane venting from the entire World Ocean. Leakage of methane through shallow ESAS waters needs to be considered in interactions between the biogeosphere and a warming Arctic climate.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1246-1250 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Science |
| Volume | 327 |
| Issue number | 5970 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 5 Mar 2010 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Extensive methane venting to the atmosphere from sediments of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. / Shakhova, Natalia Evgenievna; Semiletov, Igor Petrovich; Salyuk, Anatoly; Yusupov, Vladimir; Kosmach, Denis; Gustafsson, Örjan.
In: Science, Vol. 327, No. 5970, 05.03.2010, p. 1246-1250.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Extensive methane venting to the atmosphere from sediments of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf
AU - Shakhova, Natalia Evgenievna
AU - Semiletov, Igor Petrovich
AU - Salyuk, Anatoly
AU - Yusupov, Vladimir
AU - Kosmach, Denis
AU - Gustafsson, Örjan
PY - 2010/3/5
Y1 - 2010/3/5
N2 - Remobilization to the atmosphere of only a small fraction of the methane held in East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) sediments could trigger abrupt climate warming, yet it is believed that sub-sea permafrost acts as a lid to keep this shallow methane reservoir in place. Here, we show that more than 5000 at-sea observations of dissolved methane demonstrates that greater than 80% of ESAS bottom waters and greater than 50% of surface waters are supersaturated with methane regarding to the atmosphere. The current atmospheric venting flux, which is composed of a diffusive component and a gradual ebullition component, is on par with previous estimates of methane venting from the entire World Ocean. Leakage of methane through shallow ESAS waters needs to be considered in interactions between the biogeosphere and a warming Arctic climate.
AB - Remobilization to the atmosphere of only a small fraction of the methane held in East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) sediments could trigger abrupt climate warming, yet it is believed that sub-sea permafrost acts as a lid to keep this shallow methane reservoir in place. Here, we show that more than 5000 at-sea observations of dissolved methane demonstrates that greater than 80% of ESAS bottom waters and greater than 50% of surface waters are supersaturated with methane regarding to the atmosphere. The current atmospheric venting flux, which is composed of a diffusive component and a gradual ebullition component, is on par with previous estimates of methane venting from the entire World Ocean. Leakage of methane through shallow ESAS waters needs to be considered in interactions between the biogeosphere and a warming Arctic climate.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77749292045&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77749292045&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/science.1182221
DO - 10.1126/science.1182221
M3 - Article
C2 - 20203047
AN - SCOPUS:77749292045
VL - 327
SP - 1246
EP - 1250
JO - Science
JF - Science
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 5970
ER -