Mechanistic insights into a hydrate contribution to the Paleocene-Eocene carbon cycle perturbation from coupled thermohydraulic simulations
Mechanistic insights into a hydrate contribution to the Paleocene-Eocene carbon cycle perturbation from coupled thermohydraulic simulations
During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the carbon isotopic signature (?13C) of surface carbon-bearing phases decreased abruptly by at least 2.5 to 3.0 ‰. This carbon isotope excursion (CIE) has been attributed to widespread methane hydrate dissociation in response to rapid ocean warming. We ran a thermohydraulic modeling code to simulate hydrate dissociation due to ocean warming for various PETM scenarios. Our results show that hydrate dissociation in response to such warming can be rapid but suggest that methane release to the ocean is modest and delayed by hundreds to thousands of years after the onset of dissociation, limiting the potential for positive feedback from emissions-induced warming. In all of our simulations at least half of the dissociated hydrate methane remains beneath the seabed, suggesting that the pre-PETM hydrate inventory needed to account for all of the CIE is at least double that required for isotopic mass balance.
hydrate, methane, PETM
8637-8644
Minshull, T.A.
bf413fb5-849e-4389-acd7-0cb0d644e6b8
Marin-Moreno, H.
d1daa2dc-3ece-4b9b-914a-0e463b77d414
Armstrong Mckay, D.I.
9e7fc75d-311e-4980-9911-288d965a9e56
Wilson, P.A.
f940a9f0-fa5a-4a64-9061-f0794bfbf7c6
30 August 2016
Minshull, T.A.
bf413fb5-849e-4389-acd7-0cb0d644e6b8
Marin-Moreno, H.
d1daa2dc-3ece-4b9b-914a-0e463b77d414
Armstrong Mckay, D.I.
9e7fc75d-311e-4980-9911-288d965a9e56
Wilson, P.A.
f940a9f0-fa5a-4a64-9061-f0794bfbf7c6
Minshull, T.A., Marin-Moreno, H., Armstrong Mckay, D.I. and Wilson, P.A.
(2016)
Mechanistic insights into a hydrate contribution to the Paleocene-Eocene carbon cycle perturbation from coupled thermohydraulic simulations.
Geophysical Research Letters, 43 (16), .
(doi:10.1002/2016GL069676).
Abstract
During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the carbon isotopic signature (?13C) of surface carbon-bearing phases decreased abruptly by at least 2.5 to 3.0 ‰. This carbon isotope excursion (CIE) has been attributed to widespread methane hydrate dissociation in response to rapid ocean warming. We ran a thermohydraulic modeling code to simulate hydrate dissociation due to ocean warming for various PETM scenarios. Our results show that hydrate dissociation in response to such warming can be rapid but suggest that methane release to the ocean is modest and delayed by hundreds to thousands of years after the onset of dissociation, limiting the potential for positive feedback from emissions-induced warming. In all of our simulations at least half of the dissociated hydrate methane remains beneath the seabed, suggesting that the pre-PETM hydrate inventory needed to account for all of the CIE is at least double that required for isotopic mass balance.
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Accepted/In Press date: 28 July 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 August 2016
Published date: 30 August 2016
Keywords:
hydrate, methane, PETM
Organisations:
Geology & Geophysics, Marine Geoscience, Geography & Environment, Paleooceanography & Palaeoclimate
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 398851
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/398851
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: a72dfd1b-0be4-47a8-ba05-fb135c213e40
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Date deposited: 02 Aug 2016 12:20
Last modified: 31 May 2022 01:36
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Author:
H. Marin-Moreno
Author:
D.I. Armstrong Mckay
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