US EditionScientists Find Methane Leaking from Antarctic Seafloor at Alarming Rate
Methane seeps in the Ross Sea are more common and emit high rates of this greenhouse gas, which is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, researchers said.
- Scientists have discovered methane seeping from the Antarctic seafloor at an alarming rate, with over two dozen bubble plumes found between 130 and 790 feet deep in a small area.
- These seeps, or areas where fluid and gas escape through seafloor sediment, can reshape local ecosystems by altering oxygen levels, acidity, and nutrient availability.
- The shallow depth of the seeps near Antarctica's coast increases the likelihood of methane reaching the atmosphere, particularly when bubbles get trapped under sea ice.
37 Articles
37 Articles
Antarctic seep emergence and discovery in the shallow coastal environment - Nature Communications
We report striking discoveries of numerous seafloor seeps of climate-reactive fluid and gases in the coastal Ross Sea, indicating this process may be a common phenomenon in the region. We establish the recent emergence of many of these seep features, based on their discovery in areas routinely surveyed for decades with no previous seep presence. Additionally, we highlight impacts to the local benthic ecosystem correlated to seep presence and dis…
Researchers are alarmed: in the Antarctic Ross Sea, they have discovered more than 40 sites in the seabed where harmful gas emanates. The gas is "a real unknown – and could become really dangerous," warns marine biologist Andrew Thurber. Because the gas that comes from cracks in the sea floor is methane. Methane is used for heating or as fuel, however, is also a particularly climate-damaging gas. "Each newly discovered source initially caused en…
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate,” raising fears that future global warming predictions may have been underestimated.
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