Methane hydrate is an icelike substance that is stable at high pressure and low temperature in continental margin sediments. Since the discovery of a large number of gas flares at the landward termination of the gas hydrate stability zone off Svalbard, there has been concern that warming bottom waters have started to dissociate large amounts of gas hydrate and that the resulting methane release may possibly accelerate global warming. Here, we corroborate that hydrates play a role in the observed seepage of gas, but we present evidence that seepage off Svalbard has been ongoing for at least 3000 years and that seasonal fluctuations of 1° to 2°C in the bottom-water temperature cause periodic gas hydrate formation and dissociation, which focus seepage at the observed sites.

Large amounts of the greenhouse gas methane are released from the seabed to the water column 1 where it may be consumed by aerobic methanotrophic bacteria 2. This microbial filter is consequently the last marine sink for methane before its liberation to the atmosphere. The size and activity of methanotrophic communities, which determine the capacity of the water column methane filter, are thought to be mainly controlled by nutrient and redox dynamics 3-7 , but little is known about the effects of ocean currents. Here we show that cold bottom water at methane seeps west off Svalbard, containing a large number of aerobic methanotrophs, was rapidly displaced by warmer water with a considerably smaller methanotrophic community. This water mass exchange, caused by short-term variations of the West Spitsbergen Current, constitutes an oceanographic switch severely reducing methanotrophic activity in the water column. Strong and fluctuating currents are widespread oceanographic features common at many methane seep systems and are thus likely to globally affect methane oxidation in the ocean water column. Large amounts of methane are stored in the subsurface of continental margins as solid gas hydrates, gaseous reservoirs or dissolved in pore water 8. At cold seeps, various physical, chemical, and geological processes force subsurface methane to ascend along pathways of structural weakness to the sea floor where a portion of this methane is utilised by anaerobic and aerobic methanotrophic microbes 1,9. On a global scale, about 0.02 Gt yr-1 (3-3.5% of the atmospheric budget 10) of methane bypasses the benthic filter system and is liberated to the ocean water column 1 where some of it is oxidised aerobically (aerobic oxidation of methane-MOx) (ref 2), or less commonly where the water column is anoxic, anaerobically (anaerobic oxidation of methane-AOM) (refs 2, 11). MOx is performed by methanotrophic bacteria (MOB) typically belonging to the Gamma-(type I) or Alphaproteobacteria (type II) (refs 12, 13): CH 4 + 2 O 2 → CO 2 + 2 H 2 O Water column MOx is consequently the final sink for methane before its release to the atmosphere, where it acts as a potent greenhouse gas. The water column MOx filter could become more

We find that summer methane (CH4) release from seabed sediments west of Svalbard substantially increases CH4 concentrations in the ocean but has limited influence on the atmospheric CH4 levels. Our conclusion stems from complementary measurements at the seafloor, in the ocean, and in the atmosphere from land‐based, ship and aircraft platforms during a summer campaign in 2014. We detected high concentrations of dissolved CH4 in the ocean above the seafloor with a sharp decrease above the pycnocline. Model approaches taking potential CH4 emissions from both dissolved and bubble‐released CH4 from a larger region into account reveal a maximum flux compatible with the observed atmospheric CH4 mixing ratios of 2.4–3.8 nmol m−2 s−1. This is too low to have an impact on the atmospheric summer CH4 budget in the year 2014. Long‐term ocean observatories may shed light on the complex variations of Arctic CH4 cycles throughout the year.

International audienceA dedicated trawling experiment was performed at three sites on the Gulf of Lion continental shelf, with the aim of assessing the resuspension of particulate and dissolved matter triggered by different types of trawls on muddy sediments. The different configurations were: (i) bottom trawl, with bobbin for ground rope (Rockhopper): (ii) bottom trawl, without bobbin (Medits); and (iii) pelagic trawl, towed at 1 and 10m above the seabed.;The plumes of resuspended sediment were measured using the acoustic backscattered intensity, from a towed ADCP. Concomitant profiles of particle size-distribution, light transmission and water samples were collected, outside and inside the plumes. The analysis of the data enabled derivation of the major physical and chemical characteristics of the plumes generated by the trawls; likewise, and to quantify the resuspension fluxes of sediment, particulate (PN, POC) and dissolved (nutrients) elements. The residence time and dispersal of the plumes were monitored and modelled, considering the settling velocity of the particulate matter and the near-bottom turbulence.;The results indicate that the bottom trawls produce significant resuspension, whilst the near-bottom and mid-water pelagic trawls have no impact upon the sediment. The sediment clouds at several hundreds metres astern of the bottom trawls are 3-6m high and 70-200m, wide; they were generated both by the otter doors and the net. The average suspended sediment concentrations measured in the plumes reach 50 mg l(-1). Resuspension fluxes of sediment along the path of the trawls range from 190 g m(-2) s(-1), for the coarsest sediment (clayey silt) to 800 g m(-2) s(-1) for the finest sediment (silty clay). Whilst the resuspended loads of dissolved elements (nutrients) within the plume segment suggest a release of porewater, present at least in the first few centimetres of sediment, the particulate matter load only resulted from the resuspension of less than 1 mm thickness of the sediment bed. This discrepancy shows that a very small fraction of the sediment ploughed by the trawl is effectively injected into the water column.;The monitoring of the settling of the plumes indicates a rapid decay of the sediment load, during the first hour after its generation. Some of the sediment (about 10-15% of the initial load) remains in suspension; this is due, probably, to the near-bottom turbulence that prevents the redeposition of the fine particles and aggregates. Lateral spreading of the plume is strongly dependent upon the variability of horizontal currents. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Abstract. We describe and demonstrate algorithms for treating cohesive and mixed sediment that have been added to the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS version 3.6), as implemented in the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-WaveSediment Transport Modeling System (COAWST Subversion repository revision 1234). These include the following: floc dynamics (aggregation and disaggregation in the water column); changes in floc characteristics in the seabed; erosion and deposition of cohesive and mixed (combination of cohesive and non-cohesive) sediment; and biodiffusive mixing of bed sediment. These routines supplement existing noncohesive sediment modules, thereby increasing our ability to model fine-grained and mixed-sediment environments. Additionally, we describe changes to the sediment bed layering scheme that improve the fidelity of the modeled stratigraphic record. Finally, we provide examples of these modules implemented in idealized test cases and a realistic application.