researcharticle arctic ocean gas hydrate stability …682204/...arctic ocean most likely has a...

Hindawi Publishing CorporationJournal of Geological ResearchVolume 2013 Article ID 783969 10 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552013783969

Research ArticleArctic Ocean Gas Hydrate Stability in a Changing Climate

Michela Giustiniani1 Umberta Tinivella1 Martin Jakobsson2 and Michele Rebesco1

1 National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) Borgo Grotta Gigante 42C 34010 Trieste Italy2 Department of Geological Sciences Stockholm University 106 91 Stockholm Sweden

Correspondence should be addressed to Michela Giustiniani mgiustinianiogstriesteit

Received 26 June 2013 Accepted 17 September 2013

Academic Editor Xuewei Liu

Copyright copy 2013 Michela Giustiniani et al This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properlycited

Recent estimations suggest that vast amounts of methane are locked in the Arctic Ocean bottom sediments in various forms of gashydrates A potential feedback from a continued warming of the Arctic region is therefore the release ofmethane to the atmosphereThis study addresses the relationship between a warming of the Arctic ocean and gas hydrate stability We apply a theoretical modelthat estimates the base of the gas hydrate stability zone in the Arctic Ocean considering different bottom water warming and sealevel scenarios Wemodel the present day conditions adopting two different geothermal gradient values 30 and 40∘Ckm For eachgeothermal gradient value we simulate a rise and a decrease in seafloor temperature equal to 2∘C and in sea level equal to 10mTheresults show that shallow gas hydrates present in water depths less than 500mwould be strongly affected by a future rise in seafloortemperature potentially resulting in large amounts of gas released to the water column due to their dissociation We estimate thatthe area where there could be complete gas hydrate dissociation is about 4 of the area where there are the conditions for gashydrates stability

1 Introduction

Vast quantities of methane are trapped in oceanic hydratedeposits and there is a concern that a rise in the oceantemperature will induce dissociation of these hydrate accu-mulations potentially releasing large amounts of methaneinto the atmosphere [1 2] In this context the Arctic shouldbe considered a critical area in a warming climate becausemassive amounts of methane are currently locked as gashydrates in ocean sediments and in permafrost that couldbe released [3ndash6] Moreover in the Arctic ocean the gashydrate stability zone is especially sensitive to climate changebecause the degree of temperature change is greater thanat lower latitudes [4] For example the gas hydrate stabilityzone along continental slopes is found to be sensitive toeven small changes in ocean bottom temperature [4] and theArctic Ocean most likely has a larger gas hydrate stabilityzone compared to other oceans because of its cold waterand low geothermal gradients [7] However it is still unclearwhether the recent discoveries of methane emissions in theArctic shelf and slope region are a result of better mapping

and detection methods or whether they reflect a naturalvariability or environmental conditions following the presentclimate change

Gas hydrates are solid crystalline compounds in whichgas molecules are lodged within the clathrate crystal lattice[8] They occur when water and adequate quantity of gascombine under conditions of relatively high pressure andlow temperature The gas hydrate stability zone thicknessvaries widely within Arctic region depending on factors suchas ocean bottom waterpermafrost temperature geothermalgradient salinity of the water and composition of gas [9]

Both permafrost-associated gas hydrates and the shal-lowest part of the deepwater marine gas hydrate systemare susceptible to dissociation (breakdown to methane andwater) under conditions of a warming Arctic climate Thedissociation of these hydrate deposits which release largequantities of methane could have dramatic climatic con-sequences that in turn lead to further atmospheric andoceanic warming through accelerated decomposition of theremaining hydrates [7] This positive-feedback mechanismhas been proposed as a significant contributor to rapid and

2 Journal of Geological Research

180∘

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∘E

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∘20

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80 ∘N

(meters above and below Mean Sea Level)

minus5000

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minus1500

minus1000

minus500

minus200

minus100

minus50

minus25

minus10

50

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1000

Figure 1 Map of investigated area including bathymetric data

significant climate changes in the late Quaternary period [10ndash13] The ldquoClathrate Gun Hypothesisrdquo [14] suggests that pastincreases in water temperatures near the seafloor may haveinduced such a large-scale dissociation with the methanespike and isotopic anomalies reflected in polar ice coresand in benthic foraminifera [7] Methane from dissociatinghydrates in ocean sediments has been proposed to neverreach the atmosphere either due to its conversion to carbondioxide in the water column or from being sequestered inthe biosphere [15] Isotopic studies of air trapped in ice coresquestion the source of the atmospheric methane during theserapid temperature excursions [16] Furthermore Nisbet [17]while suggesting methane as a factor in moderating glacia-tions proposed that the methane spikes may follow not leadclimate change Simulations of deep ocean hydrates showthat deep (gt1000m) hydrates may be relatively insensitiveto ocean temperature changes on short time scales Dickens

[18] calculated that the volume of the GHSZ associatedwith marine hydrates halved during the Paleocene-Eocenethermal maximum with a temperature increase of 5∘C Herewe define the area where there are the conditions for gashydrates stability and we model the effects of warmer oceanbottom temperatures and increased seafloor pressure on thegas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) in the Arctic Ocean asshown in Figure 1 Moreover we focus on the intersectionbetween the base of gas hydrate stability zone and the seaflooridentifying the areas where the complete dissociation of gashydrates could occur and estimating their extension Theeffects on the GHSZ from increased bottom temperatureshave previously been modeled in the Antarctic Peninsula[19ndash21] The base of GHSZ is calculated as the intersectionbetween the geothermal curve and the gas hydrate stabilitycurve [22 23] by using the Sloan formula [8] The follow-ing parameters were adopted to estimate the base of gas

Journal of Geological Research 3

hydrate stability zone as described in the following sectionsgeothermal gradient seafloor temperature bathymetry andgas composition

2 Gas Hydrates and the Arctic

Many authors have demonstrated that climate change isoccurring and is particularly pronounced in the Arctic [24ndash26] Because the Arctic plays a special role in global climatethese changes will also affect the rest of the world [27] Globalclimate change is likely amplified in the Arctic by severalpositive feedbacks including surface albedo decreased by iceand snow melting temperature anomalies trapped near thesurface by atmospheric stability and changemagnification bycloud dynamics [28 29] Consequently the temperature inthe Arctic is increasing at a rate of two to three times that ofthe global temperature estimated to be 04∘Cover the past 150years [30]

It is clear that the Arctic can contribute significantly tothe amplification of climate changes So many efforts shouldbe devoted to improve the knowledge about gas hydratereservoir located in this area It is clear that difficulty incarrying out seismic bathymetric and geological surveys hasyielded little data about gas hydrates in the ice-covered Arcticbasin [31] Investigations are still producing surprising resultsindicating that our understanding of gas hydrate formationand distribution is incomplete [32] The available estimatesof methane in Arctic hydrates ranging between 1013 and1016m3 in onshore regions [33ndash36] are based mainly onspeculations of constant distribution of hydrates withinsediments across significant areas in a large depth intervalusing regional hydrate content percentage An approach toobtain additional information about gas hydrate depositslocated in this area could be the theoretical modeling of theGHSZ In this context we define the area where there arethe conditions for gas hydrate stability zone and we simulatethe effects of climate changes on hydrate The base of thegas hydrate stability zone is calculated as the intersectionbetween the geothermal gradient curve and gas-gas hydrate-pore water equilibrium curve Moreover we identify the areawhere the complete dissociation of gas hydrate could occurif they were present

As already mentioned gas hydrate stability is mainlyaffected by ocean bottom waterpermafrost temperaturegeothermal gradient salinity of the water and composition ofgas It is known that the presence of only a small percentage ofhigher hydrocarbons (such as ethane and propane) shifts thephase boundary to higher temperature (at constant pressure)The effect is that the base of GHSZ at a given temperature isshifted to greater depths [37 38]

3 Gas Hydrates Modeling

We consider the main factors affecting the GHSZ andsimulate their variation analyzing the effects on gas hydratestability By using bathymetric data sea bottom temperatureand geothermal gradient and considering that the natural gasis methane we evaluate the theoretical GHSZ similarly to

what was recently evaluated in the Antarctic region by [19ndash22] The base of GHSZ was calculated as the intersectionbetween the geothermal curve and the gas hydrate stabilitycurve

31 Seafloor Temperature The seafloor temperature data aredownloaded from the National Oceanographic Data Centerwebsite (httpwwwnodcnoaagovcgi-binOC5WOA09woa09pl) The available water temperatures were sampled at33 different depths (from 0 to 5500m) on one-degree fieldsThe intersection between the 33 levels and the bathymetricdata allow us to extract the seafloor temperature In this waywe obtained the distribution of seafloor temperature in studyarea shown in Figure 2

32 Pressure Based on Water Depth An important factorconsidered in GHSZ estimation is the water depth becauseits variation strongly affects the GHSZ thickness espe-cially for deep gas hydrate reservoir (gt500m) The adopteddigital bathymetric model was developed by the Interna-tional Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO)project (httpwwwngdcnoaagovmggbathymetryarcticdownloadshtml) The IBCAO map (version 3) is a seamlessbathymetric topographic digital terrain model that incorpo-rates three primary data sets all available bathymetric datathe GMTED 2010 topographic data and the World VectorShoreline for coastline representation [39] The grid cell sizeof the adopted version is 2 times 2 km on a polar stereographicprojection The bathymetric data are translated in termsof pressure considering the average water density equal to1046 kgm3 We extrapolate the average water density assuggested by Giorgetti et al [40] for Antarctic Peninsulabecause of the similarity of water temperature and polarclimate conditions

33 Gas Composition Knowledge about gas composition ofgas hydrates is always poor In our study we suppose that thecomponent of gas is pure methane In this way we considerthe condition for which the base of GHSZ is shallower somore sensitive to climate changes

34 Geothermal Gradients The Arctic region lacks geother-mal gradient data because of the difficulty to acquire dataSo we consider the following geothermal gradients 30 and40∘Ckm considering different studies [41 42] As suggestedby different authors [43 44] the geothermal gradients canhighly range due to different factors such as presence ofmud diapirs or salt domes inversion of the basin resultingin shallow basement rocks and presence of faults causingfocused fluid flow [42] As previously demonstrated [45]zones characterized by lower geothermal gradients are moreaffected by climate change concerning gas hydrate stability

The base of the GHSZ is estimated as the intersectionbetween geothermal curve and the gas hydrate stability curvecalculated using the Sloan formula [8] First we simulatethe present day condition using the collected parameters toevaluate the zone where there are the conditions for gas


60∘N

60∘N

60∘N

60∘N

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∘N

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55∘N

80∘W

100∘W

40∘E20

∘E0∘

20∘W40

∘W

180∘

160∘E160

∘W

1000 km

Seafloor temperature (∘C)

120∘

85

minus55

Figure 2 Seafloor temperature (∘C) (data processed after downloading from National Oceanographic Data Center website)

hydrate stability For each geothermal gradient value we thensimulate a rise and a decrease in seafloor temperature equalto 2∘C and in sea level equal to 10m The rise in seafloortemperature of 2∘C is in agreement with temperatures duringthe latest Paleocene thermal maximum In fact the end of thePaleocene epoch was marked by an abrupt episode of globalwarming coincident with a large perturbation of the globalcarbon cycle [46] Within 10 to 30 ky [47 48] temperaturesincreased 4 to 5∘C in the tropics [49 50] 6 to 8∘C in high

latitudes [51] and 4 to 5∘C in the deep ocean [52 53] Thedecrease in seafloor temperature is considered to simulate aglacial periodMoreover results from recent simulations cou-pling circulation atmospheric circulation and atmosphericchemistry (publications in CCSM 2006) indicate that undercurrent climate conditions and 1 yr increase in atmosphericCO2 the temperature at the seafloor would rise by 1∘C

over the next 100 years and possibly by another 3∘C inthe following centuries [7] Regarding the sea-level change


55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

0 180

(a) Present day conditions

55∘N

55∘N 55

∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

180 180

(b) 998779T = minus2∘C

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

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60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

20∘E 180

(c) 998779T = +2∘C

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

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60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

180 180

(d) 998779Z = minus10

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

minus973ndashminus6681minus668ndashminus5461minus546ndashminus4317


Base of GHSZ (m)

180 180

(e) 998779Z = +10

Figure 3 Depth of base of GHSZ from seafloor In each panel the left modeling was performed by using a geothermal gradient equal to30∘Ckm while for the right panel the geothermal gradient was 40∘Ckm For details see the text

the range of future climate-induced sea-level rise remainsuncertain with continued concern that large increases in thetwenty-first century cannot be ruled out The mean rate ofsea-level rate measured by high-precision altimeter amounts

to 33 plusmn 04mmyear from 1993 to 2009 suggesting that sea-level rate is accelerating compared to the past [54] Moreoverthere is a huge uncertainty due to the potential melting ofglaciers and the possible role of the Greenland and West


0

200

400

600

800

1000

20000 40000 60000 80000 100000

Distance (m)

Dep

th (m

)

ΔT = +2∘C

Present day condition

GG = 30∘Ckm

ΔT = minus2∘C

Figure 4 Selected profile offshore Svalbard Island The black linerepresents the present day topography along the profile The shownsimulations are performed using a geothermal gradient (GG) equalto 30∘Ckm

Antarctic ice sheets which could amplify the changes insea level The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) has pointed out that for a warming over Greenlandof 55∘C the Greenland ice sheet contribution is about 3min 1000 years while for a warming of 8∘C the contributionis about 6m with the ice sheet being largely eliminated Soconsidering 10m of sea-level variation it is likely to predictan extreme scenario but not unrealistic [30] Anyway severalmodels have suggested that the sea level dropped by about100m during the last glacial maximum [55] Rohling et al[56] suggested that the sea level was 120m below its presentvalue during the last glacial maximum reducing the water-covered shelf and marginal sea areas by approximately 50[57ndash59]

4 Discussions

We show the modeled base of the GHSZ for all 10 casesanalyzed in Figure 3 showing the depth of the base of GHSZfrom seafloor We modeled 5 cases for each geothermalgradient value Panel (a) shows present day conditions panel(b) shows temperature decrease of 2 degrees and panel (c)shows temperature increase while panels (d) and (e) showdecrease and increase of sea level respectively As previouslymentioned the base of GHSZ is calculated as the intersectionbetween the gas hydrate stability curve and the geothermalcurve The base of GHSZ is commonly inferred from seismicreflection profiles using a bottom simulating reflector (BSR)which is the boundary between hydrate-bearing sedimentabove and gassy sediment beneath [60] As expected a risein seafloor temperature causes gas hydrate in the region to

become unstable (panel (c) in Figure 3) This could causethe base of the GHSZ to move upward resulting in thinnerGHSZ and subsequent methane releases On the contrarya decrease in seafloor temperature could cause the base ofthe GHSZ to move downward In this condition the GHSZcould increase in thickness as shown in panel (b) A negativefeedback from a warming climate is a rising sea level frommelting of glaciers and ice sheets which would increase thepressure at the seafloor This could result in the deepeningof the base of the GHSZ extending the zone where there arethe conditions for gas hydrate stability as shown in column(e) of Figure 3 On the contrary the decrease of sea levellead to a shallower base of the GHSZ However the effectof 10m sea-level change on gas stability zone is very lowcompared to those of a 2-degree temperature change InFigure 4 we show a profile offshore Svalbard Island consid-ering the case for which the geothermal gradient is equal to30∘Ckm

Theblack line represents the bathymetry along the profileBelow it we show three hypothetical future scenarios whichwill affect gas hydrate stability (a) present day condition(purple line) (b) considering a rise of 2∘C (green line) and(c) considering a decrease of 2∘C (yellow line) The modelingshows clearly that a rise in temperature could affect the gashydrate reservoir in this location and cause dissociation Infact where the depth is deeper than 500m as shown inFigure 4 an increase of 2∘C in seafloor temperature couldcause the complete dissociation of gas hydrate releasingmethane in the water column and maybe in the atmosphereMoreover the free gas trapped below the gas hydrate reservoircould also be released When there is a partial dissociationof gas hydrates that is gas hydrate in water depth shallowerthan 500m because of the increase in temperature orand thedecrease of sea level there may also be a positive feedbackon climate In fact the free gas released from gas hydratedissociation will be trapped in the sediments because gashydrate will act as cap To contribute to the estimation ofthe effects of gas hydrate on climate change we identify thearea where there could be a complete gas hydrate dissociationbecause of a rise of 2∘C in sea bottom temperature andestimate its extension equal to 31 times 105 km2 (Figure 5)This area represents about 4 of the area where there arethe conditions for gas hydrates stability To estimate thisarea we calculate the present day intersection between theseafloor and the base of gas hydrate zone and that oneconsidering a rise in seafloor temperature equal to 2∘CIn the zone included between the two intersections therecould be a complete dissociation of gas hydrate as shown inFigure 5

5 Conclusions

Our modeling confirms that the shallow gas hydrate deposits(water column lt 500m) could be strongly affected by climatechangemainly by rise in temperature and thatmethane couldbe released due to gas hydrate dissociation It is importantto underline that several factors mitigate the impact of the


60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

80∘W

100∘W

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

40∘E20

∘E0∘

20∘W40

∘W

55∘N

180∘

160∘E160

∘W

Area involved in gas hydrate dissociation

1000 km

N

Figure 5 In the red areas complete dissociation of gas hydrate could talk place with a rise in the seafloor temperature of 2∘CThis simulationis performed using a geothermal gradient of 30∘Ckm

liberated CH4on the sediment-ocean-atmosphere system

The released CH4may dissolve in local pore waters remain

trapped as gas or rise toward the seafloor as bubbles Up to90 or more of the CH

4that reaches the sulfate reduction

zone in the near-seafloor sediments may be consumed byanaerobic CH

4oxidation [61ndash65] Moreover methane emit-

ted at the seafloor only rarely survives the trip through thewater column to reach the atmosphere In fact within thewater column oxidation by aerobic microbes is an importantsink for dissolved CH

4over some depth ranges and at some

locations (eg [66])Since authors predict the current and near-future evolu-

tion of sea-level rise remain in the range of few decimeters

[54 67] it is mainly the warming of the oceans that hasthe potential to significantly alter the stable conditions ofmethane hydrates [68] So many efforts should be devotedto improve the knowledge about the Arctic gas hydratereservoirs because they could play an important role regard-ing world warming changes considering that over the pastdecade the Arctic has been warming up twice as fast asthe global average [69] Moreover we should improve theknowledge about shallow gas hydrate deposits (water columnlt 500m) which could be completely dissociated determininga change of the characteristics of the underground withunpredictable effects Finally it is worth to mention thatthe Arctic is an area logistically difficult to investigate due


to the extreme environmental conditions So modeling isindispensable for planning and identifying the key areaswhere more accurate field analyses should be performedWhen more detailed data about gas hydrate occurrence willbe available our modeling can be used to extrapolate localinformation at global scale

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank Manuela Sedmach for the graphicsupport

References

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[2] M T Reagan G JMoridis SM Elliott andMMaltrud ldquoCon-tribution of oceanic gas hydrate dissociation to the formation ofArctic Oceanmethane plumesrdquo Journal of Geophysical ResearchC vol 116 no 9 Article ID C09014 2011

[3] N Shakhova I Semiletov A Salyuk V Yusupov D Kos-mach and O Gustafsson ldquoExtensive methane venting to theatmosphere from sediments of the East Siberian Arctic ShelfrdquoScience vol 327 no 5970 pp 1246ndash1250 2010

[4] G K Westbrook K E Thatcher E J Rohling et al ldquoEscapeof methane gas from the seabed along the West Spitsbergencontinental marginrdquo Geophysical Research Letters vol 36 no15 Article ID L15608 2009

[5] B Buffett and D Archer ldquoGlobal inventory of methane clath-rate sensitivity to changes in the deep oceanrdquo Earth andPlanetary Science Letters vol 227 no 3-4 pp 185ndash199 2004

[6] E A G Schuur J G Vogel K G Crummer H Lee J O Sick-man andT EOsterkamp ldquoThe effect of permafrost thawon oldcarbon release and net carbon exchange from tundrardquo Naturevol 459 no 7246 pp 556ndash559 2009

[7] M T Reagan and G J Moridis ldquoOceanic gas hydrate instabilityand dissociation under climate change scenariosrdquo GeophysicalResearch Letters vol 34 no 22 Article ID L22709 2007

[8] E D SloanClathrate Hydrates of Natural Gases Marcel DekkerNew York NY USA 2nd edition 1998

[9] E D Sloan ldquoNatural gas hydrate phase equilibria and kineticsunderstanding the state-of-the-artrdquo Revue de lrsquoInstitut Francaisdu Petrole vol 45 no 2 pp 245ndash266 1990

[10] J P Kennett K G Cannariato I L Hendy and R J BehlldquoCarbon isotopic evidence for methane hydrate instabilityduring quaternary interstadialsrdquo Science vol 288 no 5463 pp128ndash133 2000

[11] E J Brook T Sowers and J Orchardo ldquoRapid variations inatmospheric methane concentration during the past 110000yearsrdquo Science vol 273 no 5278 pp 1087ndash1091 1996

[12] J P Severinghaus T Sowers E J Brook R B Alley and ML Bender ldquoTiming of abrupt climate change at the end of theYounger Dryas interval from thermally fractionated gases inpolar icerdquo Nature vol 391 no 6663 pp 141ndash146 1998

[13] R J Behl J P Kennett K G Cannariato and L L HendyldquoMethane hydrates and climate change the clathrate gunhypothesisrdquo AAPG Bulletin vol 87 no 10 article 1693 2003

[14] J P Kennett K G Cannariato I L Hendy and R J BehlMethane Hydrates in Quaternary Climate ChangeThe ClathrateGun Hypothesis vol 54 American Geophysical Union Wash-ington DC USA 2002

[15] K A Kvenvolden ldquoPotential effects of gas hydrate on humanwelfarerdquo Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of theUnited States of America vol 96 no 7 pp 3420ndash3426 1999

[16] T Sowers ldquoLate quaternary atmospheric CH4

isotope recordsuggests marine clathrates are stablerdquo Science vol 311 no 5762pp 838ndash840 2006

[17] E G Nisbet ldquoHave sudden large releases of methane fromgeological reservoirs occurred since the Last Glacial Maximumand could such releases occur againrdquo Philosophical Transac-tions of the Royal Society A vol 360 no 1793 pp 581ndash607 2002

[18] G R Dickens ldquoThe potential volume of oceanic methane hy-drates with variable external conditionsrdquoOrganic Geochemistryvol 32 no 10 pp 1179ndash1193 2001

[19] U Tinivella ldquoThe seismic response to overpressure versusgas hydrate and free gas concentrationrdquo Journal of SeismicExploration vol 11 no 3 pp 283ndash305 2002

[20] M Giustiniani D Accettella M F Loreto U Tinivella andF Accaino ldquoGeographic information systemmdashan applicationto manage geophysical datardquo in Proceedings of the 71st Euro-pean Association of Geoscientists and Engineers Conferenceand Exhibition pp 340ndash344 Society of Petroleum EngineersAmsterdam The Netherlands June 2009

[21] U Tinivella M Giustiniani and D Accettella ldquoBSR versusclimate change and slidesrdquo Journal of Geological Research vol2011 Article ID 390547 6 pages 2011

[22] U Tinivella and J M Carcione ldquoEstimation of gas-hydrateconcentration and free-gas saturation from log and seismicdatardquoThe Leading Edge vol 20 no 2 pp 200ndash203 2001

[23] M F Loreto U Tinivella F Accaino and M GiustinianildquoOffshore Antarctic Peninsula gas hydrate reservoir character-ization by geophysical data analysisrdquo Energies vol 4 no 1 pp39ndash56 2011

[24] D Antoniades P Francus R Pienitz G St-Onge and W FVincent ldquoHolocene dynamics of the Arcticrsquos largest ice shelfrdquoProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the UnitedStates of America vol 108 no 47 pp 18899ndash18904 2011

[25] B M Vinther S L Buchardt H B Clausen et al ldquoHolocenethinning of the Greenland ice sheetrdquo Nature vol 461 no 7262pp 385ndash388 2009

[26] R G Graversen TMauritsenM Tjernstrom E Kallen and GSvensson ldquoVertical structure of recent Arctic warmingrdquoNaturevol 451 no 7174 pp 53ndash56 2008

[27] ACIA ldquoArctic Climate Impact Assessmentrdquo ACIA ScientificReport Cambridge University Press Cambridge UK 2005

[28] J Overpeck K Hughen D Hardy et al ldquoArctic environmentalchange of the last four centuriesrdquo Science vol 278 no 5341 pp1251ndash1256 1997

[29] P R Gent ldquoPreface to special issue on Community ClimateSystemModel (CCSM)rdquo Journal of Climate vol 19 no 11 article2121 2006

[30] S Solomon D Qin M Manning et al Eds ldquoClimate change2007 the physical science basis Contribution of working groupI to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental PanelonClimate Changerdquo Assessment Report CambridgeUniversityPress Cambridge UK 2007

[31] C JWillmott SM Robeson and KMatsuura ldquoShort commu-nication A refined index of model performancerdquo InternationalJournal of Climatology vol 32 pp 2088ndash2094 2012


[32] G A Cherkashov and T Matveeva ldquoUndiscovered Arctic gashydrates permafrost relationship and resource evaluationrdquo inProceedings of the American Geophysical Union Fall MeetingSan Francisco Calif USA December 2011 abstract GC52A-01

[33] V M Dobrynin Y P Korotajeva and D V Plyuschev ldquoGashydrates-one of the possible energy sourcesrdquo in Long-TermEnergy Resources R G Meyer and J C Olson Eds pp 727ndash729 Pitman Boston Mass USA 1981

[34] K A Kvenvolden ldquoMethane hydratemdasha major reservoir ofcarbon in the shallow geosphererdquoChemical Geology vol 71 no1ndash3 pp 41ndash51 1988

[35] G J MacDonald ldquoRole of methane clathrates in past and futureclimatesrdquo Climatic Change vol 16 no 3 pp 247ndash281 1990

[36] R D McIver ldquoGas hydratesrdquo in Long-Term Energy Resources RG Meyer and J C Olson Eds pp 713ndash726 Pitman BostonMass USA 1981

[37] G D Holder R D Malone and W F Lawson ldquoEffects ofgas composition and geothermal properties on the thicknessand depth of natural-gas-hydrate zonesrdquo Journal of PetroleumTechnology vol 39 no 9 pp 1147ndash1152 1987

[38] E D Sloan and C A Koh Clathrate Hydrates of Natural GasesCRC Press Boca Raton Fla USA 3rd edition 2008

[39] M Jakobsson L Mayer B Coakley et al ldquoThe InternationalBathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) version 30rdquoGeophysical Research Letters vol 39 no 12 Article ID L126092012

[40] A Giorgetti A Crise R Laterza L Perini M Rebesco andA Camerlenghi ldquoWater masses and bottom boundary layerdynamics above a sediment drift of the Antarctic Peninsulapacific marginrdquo Antarctic Science vol 15 no 4 pp 537ndash5462003

[41] F W Jones J A Majorowicz J Dietrich and A M Jes-sop ldquoGeothermal gradients and heat flow in the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin Arctic Canadardquo Pure and Applied Geophysicsvol 134 no 3 pp 473ndash483 1990

[42] S Chand J Mienert K Andreassen J Knies L Plassen and BFotland ldquoGas hydrate stability zone modelling in areas of salttectonics and pockmarks of the Barents Sea suggests an activehydrocarbon venting systemrdquo Marine and Petroleum Geologyvol 25 no 7 pp 625ndash636 2008

[43] C Ruppel G R Dickens D G Castellini W Gilhooly and DLizarralde ldquoHeat and salt inhibition of gas hydrate formation inthe northern Gulf of Mexicordquo Geophysical Research Letters vol32 no 4 pp 1ndash4 2005

[44] T Bugge G Elvebakk S Fanavoll et al ldquoShallow stratigraphicdrilling applied in hydrocarbon exploration of the NordkappBasin Barents Seardquo Marine and Petroleum Geology vol 19 no1 pp 13ndash37 2002

[45] U Tinivella andMGiustiniani ldquoVariations in BSR depth due togas hydrate stability versus pore pressurerdquoGlobal and PlanetaryChange vol 100 pp 119ndash128 2013

[46] J A Higgins and D P Schrag ldquoBeyond methane towards atheory for the Paleocene-Eocene thermalmaximumrdquoEarth andPlanetary Science Letters vol 245 no 3-4 pp 523ndash537 2006

[47] U Rohl T J Bralower R D Norris and G Wefer ldquoNew chro-nology for the late Paleocene thermal maximum and its envi-ronmental implicationsrdquo Geology vol 28 no 10 pp 927ndash9302000

[48] K A Farley and S F Eltgroth ldquoAn alternative age model forthe Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum using extraterrestrial3Herdquo Earth and Planetary Science Letters vol 208 no 3-4 pp135ndash148 2003

[49] J C Zachos M W Wara S Bohaty et al ldquoA transient rise intropical sea surface temperature during the Paleocene-Eocenethermal maximumrdquo Science vol 302 no 5650 pp 1551ndash15542003

[50] A Tripati and H Elderfield ldquoPaleoclimate deep-sea tempera-ture and circulation changes at the Paleocene-Eocene thermalmaximumrdquo Science vol 308 no 5730 pp 1894ndash1898 2005

[51] E Thomas and N J Shackleton ldquoThe latest Paleocene benthicforaminiferal extinction and stable isotope anomaliesrdquo inCorre-lation of the Early Paleogene in Northwest Europe R O Knox RM Corfield and R E Dunay Eds vol 101 of Geological SocietySpecial Publication pp 401ndash441 Geological Society of LondonLondon UK 1996

[52] J C Zachos K C Lohmann J C G Walker and S W WiseldquoAbrupt climate change and transient climates during the Pale-ogene a marine perspectiverdquo Journal of Geology vol 101 no 2pp 191ndash213 1993

[53] J P Kennett and L D Stott ldquoAbrupt deep-sea warming palaeo-ceanograph-ic changes and benthic extinctions at the end of thePalaeocenerdquo Nature vol 353 no 6341 pp 225ndash229 1991

[54] R J Nicholls and A Cazenave ldquoSea-level rise and its impact oncoastal zonesrdquo Science vol 328 no 5985 pp 1517ndash1520 2010

[55] M J Bentley ldquoVolume of Antarctic ice at the last glacial max-imum and its impact on global sea level changerdquo QuaternaryScience Reviews vol 18 no 14 pp 1569ndash1595 1999

[56] E J Rohling M Fenton F J Jorissen P Bertrand G Ganssenand J P Caulet ldquoMagnitudes of sea-level lowstands of the past500000 yearsrdquo Nature vol 394 no 6689 pp 162ndash165 1998

[57] H W Menard and S M Smith ldquoHypsometry of ocean basinprovincesrdquo Journal of Geophysical Research vol 71 no 18 pp4305ndash4325 1966

[58] W R Peltier ldquoIce age paleotopographyrdquo Science vol 265 no5169 pp 195ndash201 1994

[59] W Ludwig P Amiotte-Suchet and J-L Probst ldquoEnhancedchemical weathering of rocks during the last glacial maximuma sink for atmospheric CO

2

rdquo Chemical Geology vol 159 no1ndash4 pp 147ndash161 1999

[60] T H Shipley M H Houston R T Buffler et al ldquoSeismicreflection evidence for widespread occurrence of possible gas-hydrate horizons on continental slopes and risesrdquo AmericanAssociation of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin vol 63 pp 2204ndash2213 1979

[61] K-U Hinrichs and A Boetius ldquoThe anaerobic oxidation ofmethane new insights in microbial ecology and biochemistryrdquoin Ocean Margin Systems G Wefer D Billet D Hebbeln B BJorgensen M Schluter and T C E V Weering Eds pp 457ndash477 Springer Berlin Germany 2002

[62] T Treude A Boetius K Knittel et al ldquoAnaerobic oxidation ofmethane at Hydrate Ridge (OR)rdquo Geochimica et CosmochimicaActa vol 67 article A491 2003

[63] W S Reeburgh ldquoOceanic methane biogeochemistryrdquo ChemicalReviews vol 107 no 2 pp 486ndash513 2007

[64] K Knittel and A Boetius ldquoAnaerobic oxidation of methaneprogress with an unknown processrdquo Annual Review of Micro-biology vol 63 pp 311ndash334 2009

[65] C D Ruppel ldquoMethane hydrates and contemporary climatechangerdquo Nature Education Knowledge vol 3 no 10 article 292011

[66] S Mau D L Valentine J F Clark J Reed R Camilli and LWashburn ldquoDissolvedmethane distributions and air-sea flux inthe plume of a massive seep field Coal Oil Point Californiardquo


Geophysical Research Letters vol 34 no 22 Article ID L226032007

[67] J A Church N J White L F Konikow et al ldquoRevisitingthe Earthrsquos sea-level and energy budgets from 1961 to 2008rdquoGeophysical Research Letters vol 38 no 18 Article ID L186012011

[68] A Biastoch T Treude L H Rupke et al ldquoRising Arctic Oceantemperatures cause gas hydrate destabilization and ocean acid-ificationrdquo Geophysical Research Letters vol 38 no 8 Article IDL08602 2011

[69] J Hansen M Sato R Ruedy et al ldquoDangerous human-madeinterference with climate a GISS modelE studyrdquo AtmosphericChemistry and Physics vol 7 no 9 pp 2287ndash2312 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Volume 2013

Geological ResearchJournal of

Volume 2013

ISRN Paleontology


Geochemistry

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2013

Journal of

ISRN Geophysics


Journal ofPetroleum Engineering


Paleontology JournalHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2013

OceanographyInternational Journal of


ISRN Oceanography


EarthquakesJournal of


Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2013

International Journal of

Geophysics

ISRN Atmospheric Sciences



MineralogyInternational Journal of

ISRN Meteorology


Meteorology


Advances in

Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2013Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2013

The Scientific World Journal

Mining


Journal of

ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2013

ISRN Geology


Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of



180∘

160∘E 140

∘E

120∘E

100∘E

140∘W

120∘W

160∘W

80∘W

60∘W

100∘W

40∘E

80∘E

60∘E

20∘E0

∘20

∘W40∘W

60 ∘N

70 ∘N

80 ∘N

(meters above and below Mean Sea Level)

minus5000

minus4000

minus3000

minus2500

minus2000

minus1500

minus1000

minus500

minus200

minus100

minus50

minus25

minus10

50

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1000

Figure 1 Map of investigated area including bathymetric data

significant climate changes in the late Quaternary period [10ndash13] The ldquoClathrate Gun Hypothesisrdquo [14] suggests that pastincreases in water temperatures near the seafloor may haveinduced such a large-scale dissociation with the methanespike and isotopic anomalies reflected in polar ice coresand in benthic foraminifera [7] Methane from dissociatinghydrates in ocean sediments has been proposed to neverreach the atmosphere either due to its conversion to carbondioxide in the water column or from being sequestered inthe biosphere [15] Isotopic studies of air trapped in ice coresquestion the source of the atmospheric methane during theserapid temperature excursions [16] Furthermore Nisbet [17]while suggesting methane as a factor in moderating glacia-tions proposed that the methane spikes may follow not leadclimate change Simulations of deep ocean hydrates showthat deep (gt1000m) hydrates may be relatively insensitiveto ocean temperature changes on short time scales Dickens

[18] calculated that the volume of the GHSZ associatedwith marine hydrates halved during the Paleocene-Eocenethermal maximum with a temperature increase of 5∘C Herewe define the area where there are the conditions for gashydrates stability and we model the effects of warmer oceanbottom temperatures and increased seafloor pressure on thegas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) in the Arctic Ocean asshown in Figure 1 Moreover we focus on the intersectionbetween the base of gas hydrate stability zone and the seaflooridentifying the areas where the complete dissociation of gashydrates could occur and estimating their extension Theeffects on the GHSZ from increased bottom temperatureshave previously been modeled in the Antarctic Peninsula[19ndash21] The base of GHSZ is calculated as the intersectionbetween the geothermal curve and the gas hydrate stabilitycurve [22 23] by using the Sloan formula [8] The follow-ing parameters were adopted to estimate the base of gas
















60∘N

60∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N 55

∘N

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

80∘W

100∘W

40∘E20

∘E0∘

20∘W40

∘W

180∘

160∘E160

∘W

1000 km


120∘

85

minus55






55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

0 180


55∘N

55∘N 55

∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

180 180

(b) 998779T = minus2∘C

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

20∘E 180

(c) 998779T = +2∘C

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

180 180

(d) 998779Z = minus10

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘



Base of GHSZ (m)

180 180

(e) 998779Z = +10





0

200

400

600

800

1000

20000 40000 60000 80000 100000

Distance (m)

Dep

th (m

)

ΔT = +2∘C


GG = 30∘Ckm

ΔT = minus2∘C



4 Discussions




5 Conclusions



60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

80∘W

100∘W

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

40∘E20

∘E0∘

20∘W40

∘W

55∘N

180∘

160∘E160

∘W


1000 km

N















Acknowledgment


References






























































2
















Volume 2013


Volume 2013

ISRN Paleontology


Geochemistry


Journal of

ISRN Geophysics







ISRN Oceanography






Geophysics





ISRN Meteorology


Meteorology


Advances in



Mining


Journal of


ISRN Geology



















60∘N

60∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N 55

∘N

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

80∘W

100∘W

40∘E20

∘E0∘

20∘W40

∘W

180∘

160∘E160

∘W

1000 km


120∘

85

minus55






55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

0 180


55∘N

55∘N 55

∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

180 180

(b) 998779T = minus2∘C

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

20∘E 180

(c) 998779T = +2∘C

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

180 180

(d) 998779Z = minus10

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘



Base of GHSZ (m)

180 180

(e) 998779Z = +10





0

200

400

600

800

1000

20000 40000 60000 80000 100000

Distance (m)

Dep

th (m

)

ΔT = +2∘C


GG = 30∘Ckm

ΔT = minus2∘C



4 Discussions




5 Conclusions



60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

80∘W

100∘W

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

40∘E20

∘E0∘

20∘W40

∘W

55∘N

180∘

160∘E160

∘W


1000 km

N















Acknowledgment


References






























































2
















Volume 2013


Volume 2013

ISRN Paleontology


Geochemistry


Journal of

ISRN Geophysics







ISRN Oceanography






Geophysics





ISRN Meteorology


Meteorology


Advances in



Mining


Journal of


ISRN Geology





55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

0 180


55∘N

55∘N 55

∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

180 180

(b) 998779T = minus2∘C

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

20∘E 180

(c) 998779T = +2∘C

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W 20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

180 180

(d) 998779Z = minus10

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘

55∘N

55∘N

55∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

60∘N

100∘W

160∘W 160

∘E

80∘W

40∘W20

∘W 0∘20

∘E 40∘E

180∘



Base of GHSZ (m)

180 180

(e) 998779Z = +10





0

200

400

600

800

1000

20000 40000 60000 80000 100000

Distance (m)

Dep

th (m

)

ΔT = +2∘C


GG = 30∘Ckm

ΔT = minus2∘C



4 Discussions




5 Conclusions



60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

80∘W

100∘W

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

40∘E20

∘E0∘

20∘W40

∘W

55∘N

180∘

160∘E160

∘W


1000 km

N















Acknowledgment


References






























































2
















Volume 2013


Volume 2013

ISRN Paleontology


Geochemistry


Journal of

ISRN Geophysics







ISRN Oceanography






Geophysics





ISRN Meteorology


Meteorology


Advances in



Mining


Journal of


ISRN Geology





0

200

400

600

800

1000

20000 40000 60000 80000 100000

Distance (m)

Dep

th (m

)

ΔT = +2∘C


GG = 30∘Ckm

ΔT = minus2∘C



4 Discussions




5 Conclusions



60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

80∘W

100∘W

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

40∘E20

∘E0∘

20∘W40

∘W

55∘N

180∘

160∘E160

∘W


1000 km

N















Acknowledgment


References






























































2
















Volume 2013


Volume 2013

ISRN Paleontology


Geochemistry


Journal of

ISRN Geophysics







ISRN Oceanography






Geophysics





ISRN Meteorology


Meteorology


Advances in



Mining


Journal of


ISRN Geology





60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

80∘W

100∘W

60∘N

60∘N

55∘N

55∘N

40∘E20

∘E0∘

20∘W40

∘W

55∘N

180∘

160∘E160

∘W


1000 km

N















Acknowledgment


References






























































2
















Volume 2013


Volume 2013

ISRN Paleontology


Geochemistry


Journal of

ISRN Geophysics







ISRN Oceanography






Geophysics





ISRN Meteorology


Meteorology


Advances in



Mining


Journal of


ISRN Geology






Acknowledgment


References






























































2
















Volume 2013


Volume 2013

ISRN Paleontology


Geochemistry


Journal of

ISRN Geophysics







ISRN Oceanography






Geophysics





ISRN Meteorology


Meteorology


Advances in



Mining


Journal of


ISRN Geology

































2
















Volume 2013


Volume 2013

ISRN Paleontology


Geochemistry


Journal of

ISRN Geophysics







ISRN Oceanography






Geophysics





ISRN Meteorology


Meteorology


Advances in



Mining


Journal of


ISRN Geology











Volume 2013


Volume 2013

ISRN Paleontology


Geochemistry


Journal of

ISRN Geophysics







ISRN Oceanography






Geophysics





ISRN Meteorology


Meteorology


Advances in



Mining


Journal of


ISRN Geology




researcharticle arctic ocean gas hydrate stability …682204/...arctic ocean most likely has a...

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