Jun 1, 2017
Massive blow-out craters formed by hydrate-controlled methane expulsion from the Arctic seafloor
by
,
Science
- Finds evidence of large craters embedded within methane-leaking subglacial sediments in the Barents Sea, Norway
- Proposes that the thinning of the ice sheet at the end of recent glacial cycles decreased the pressure on pockets of hydrates buried in the seafloor, resulting in explosive blow-outs
- Concludes that this created the giant craters and released large quantities of methane into the water above