Temporal Constraints on Hydrate-Controlled Methane Seepage off Svalbard

Abstract

What Does It All Mean? Strong emissions of methane have recently been observed from shallow sediments in Arctic seas. Berndt et al. (p. 284 , published online 2 January) present a record of methane seepage from marine sediments off the coast of Svalbard showing that such emissions have been present for at least 3000 years, the result of normal seasonal fluctuations of bottom waters. Thus, contemporary observations of strong methane venting do not necessarily mean that the clathrates that are the source of the methane are decomposing at a faster rate than in the past.