Deglacial bottom water warming intensified Arctic methane seepage in the NW Barents Sea

Oceanic methane seepage during warming

Atmospheric levels of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, vary greatly in the climate record and are usually thought to be due to emissions from continental wetlands. However, Tessa Hill et al. report that methane was released into the atmosphere from the oceans during the period of global warming associated with the most recent deglaciation. The results suggest that, at times, much more methane ...

Sea ice thickness and recent Arctic warming

The climatic impact of increased Arctic sea ice loss has received growing attention in the last years. However, little focus has been set on the role of sea ice thickness, although it strongly determines surface heat fluxes. Here ensembles of simulations using the EC-Earth atmospheric model (Integrated Forecast System) are performed and analyzed to quantify the atmospheric impacts of Arctic sea...

The Barents Sea

Fisheries in the North Atlantic, southeast Atlantic, and eastern central Atlantic reached their maximum production levels one or two decades ago and are now showing a declining trend in total catches (1). The declining catches are consistent with observations that these areas have the highest incidence of overexploited stocks, depleted stocks or slowly recovering stocks that have been depleted ...

Fluxes and fate of dissolved methane released at the seafloor at the landward limit of the gas hydrate stability zone offshore western Svalbard

Widespread seepage of methane from seafloor sediments offshore Svalbard close to the landward limit of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) may, in part, be driven by hydrate destabilization due to bottom water warming. To assess whether this methane reaches the atmosphere where it may contribute to further warming, we have undertaken comprehensive surveys of methane in seawater and air on the...

Stakeholder-Informed Ecosystem Modeling of Ocean Warming and Acidification Impacts in the Barents Sea Region