{"id":5682,"date":"2020-12-11T13:51:46","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T12:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.uit.no\/cage\/?p=5682"},"modified":"2023-04-04T10:29:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T08:29:29","slug":"the-moon-controls-the-release-of-methane-in-arctic-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.uit.no\/cage\/2020\/12\/11\/the-moon-controls-the-release-of-methane-in-arctic-ocean\/","title":{"rendered":"The moon controls the release of methane in Arctic Ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"

High tides may even counter the potential threat of submarine methane release from the warming Arctic.<\/h4>\n

Text: Maja Sojtaric<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It may not be very well known, but the Arctic Ocean leaks enormous amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane. These leaks have been ongoing for thousands of years but could be intensified by a future warmer ocean. The potential for this gas to escape the ocean, and contribute to the greenhouse gas budget in the atmosphere, is an important mystery that scientists are trying to solve.<\/p>\n

The total amount of methane in the atmosphere has increased immensely over the past decades, and while some of the increase can be ascribed to human activity, other sources are not very well constrained.<\/p>\n

A recent paper in Nature Communications even implies that the moon has a role to play.<\/a><\/p>\n

Small pressure changes affect methane release<\/h3>\n

The moon controls one of the most formidable forces in nature – the tides that shape our coastlines. Tides, in turn, significantly affect the intensity of methane emissions from the Arctic Ocean seafloor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe noticed that gas accumulations, which are in the sediments within a meter from the seafloor, are vulnerable to even slight pressure changes in the water column. Low tide means less of such hydrostatic pressure and higher intensity of methane release. High tide equals high pressure and lower intensity of the release\u201d says co-author of the paper Andreia Plaza Faverola.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the first time that this observation has been made in the Arctic Ocean. It means that slight pressure changes can release significant amounts of methane. This is a game-changer and the highest impact of the study.\u201d Says another co-author, Jochen Knies.<\/p>\n

New methods reveal unknown release sites<\/h3>\n

Plaza Faverola points out that the observations were made by placing a tool called a piezometer in the sediments and leaving it there for four days.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Retrieving the pressure tool, piezometer, which was monitoring the methane release from the ocean floor sediments. Photo: Screenshot from video. P.Domel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

It measured the pressure and temperature of the water inside the pores of the sediment.\u00a0 Hourly changes in the measured pressure and temperature revealed the presence of gas close to the seafloor that ascends and descends as the tides change. \u00a0The measurements were made in an area of the Arctic Ocean where no methane release has previously been observed but where massive gas hydrate concentrations have been sampled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tells us that gas release from the seafloor is more widespread than we can see using traditional sonar surveys. We saw no bubbles or columns of gas in the water. Gas burps that have a periodicity of several hours won\u2019t be identified unless there is a permanent monitoring tool in place, such as the piezometer.\u201d Says Plaza Faverola<\/p>\n

\"\"
Methane release can be seen as flares rising from the ocean floor. But the release is not always visible using the usual methods. Screenshot from data visualization by Andreia Plaza Faverola.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we found was unexpected and the implications are big. This is a deep-water site. Small changes in pressure can increase the gas emissions but the methane will still stay in the ocean due to the water depth. But what happens in shallower sites? \u00a0This approach needs to be done in shallow Arctic waters as well, over a longer period. \u00a0In shallow water, the possibility that methane will reach the atmosphere is greater.\u201d Says Knies.<\/p>\n

May counteract the temperature effects<\/h3>\n

High sea-level seems thus to influence gas emissions by potentially reducing their height and volume. \u00a0The question remains whether sea-level rise due to global warming might partially counterbalance the effect of temperature on submarine methane emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarth systems are interconnected in ways that we are still deciphering, and our study reveals one of such interconnections in the Arctic: The moon causes tidal forces, the tides generate pressure changes, and bottom currents that in turn shape the seafloor and impact submarine methane emissions. Fascinating!” says Andreia Plaza Faverola<\/p>\n

The paper is the result of a collaboration between CAGE and Ifremer<\/a> under the project SEAMSTRESS \u2013 Tectonic Stress Effects on Arctic Methane Seepage<\/a><\/p>\n

Ref: Nabil Sultan, Andreia Plaza-Faverola, Sunil Vadakkepuliyambatta, Stefan Buenz &\u00a0Jochen Knies. Impact of tides and sea-level on deep-sea Arctic methane emissions. Nature Communications. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-020-18899-3<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

High tides may even counter the potential threat of submarine methane release from the warming … <\/p>\n

Read more \u00abThe moon controls the release of methane in Arctic Ocean\u00bb<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123546,"featured_media":5683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe moon controls the release of methane in Arctic Ocean - CAGE, Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.uit.no\/cage\/2020\/12\/11\/the-moon-controls-the-release-of-methane-in-arctic-ocean\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The moon controls the release of methane in Arctic Ocean - 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