Sea ice, ice-sheets and gas hydrates in the Arctic: An integrated view over the last 5 million years

Earth Surface Science Institute seminar. Speaker Dr. Jochen Knies, Geological Survey of Norway.

 

Abstract

Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas after CO2. It has a short life time, but when integrated over 20 years it has a warming effect over 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide, triggering very rapid warming. In the Arctic vast amounts of methane are trapped at shallow depths below the seafloor as gas hydrates, ice-like frozen mixtures of gas and water. Current ocean warming makes these greenhouse gas reservoirs vulnerable to thawing. At he Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate (CAGE) we are investigating what this could mean for Arctic climate and environment in the future using present day observations and data from the past.

 

About the speaker

https://cage.uit.no/research-team/jochen-knies/

https://www.ngu.no/en/ansatte/jochen-manfred-knies

 

About CAGE

https://cage.uit.no/