New Data on the Patterns of Methane Distribution over the Arctic Shelf of Eurasia

Abstract

Abstract New results on the analysis of methane distribution in the troposphere over the Arctic shelf of Eurasia using the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) are reported. The main trends in variability of the methane content (increase), temperature (AIRS, fluctuations without a distinctly manifested trend), and ice coverage for the period 2010–2022 have been revealed. Conclusions were made about the difference in the distributions of atmospheric methane over the western and eastern Eurasian Arctic. These parts were divided according to the zone of permeability, which was formed by a seismically active lineament of Gakkel Ridge. It has been shown that hydrometeorological parameters, including temperature and ice formation, are probably not the main factors for increasing the methane content in the atmosphere of the Eurasian Arctic shelf. The increase in the methane content and the methane distribution are associated with natural regional factors that are widespread over vast areas. These factors include, first of all, geological structures: oil and gas basins and tectonically fragmentated zones of the lithosphere with a different type of degassing.