An Arctic natural oil seep investigated from space to the seafloor.

Autor: Panieri G; Department of Geosciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; EXPLORO Geoservices, Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: giuliana.panieri@uit.no., Argentino C; Department of Geosciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway., Ramalho SP; Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) & Biology Department, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal., Vulcano F; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway., Savini A; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milano, Italy., Fallati L; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milano, Italy., Brekke T; EXPLORO Geoservices, Trondheim, Norway., Galimberti G; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milano, Italy., Riva F; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milano, Italy., Balsa J; Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) & Biology Department, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal., Eilertsen MH; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Centre for Deep Sea Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway., Stokke R; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Centre for Deep Sea Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway., Steen IH; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Centre for Deep Sea Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway., Sahy D; British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK., Kalenitchenko D; Department of Geosciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université, Bâtiment ILE, La Rochelle, France., Büenz S; Department of Geosciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway., Mattingsdal R; Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, N-9407 Harstad, Norway.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Jan 10; Vol. 907, pp. 167788. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Oct 19.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167788
Abstrakt: Due to climate change, decreasing ice cover and increasing industrial activities, Arctic marine ecosystems are expected to face higher levels of anthropogenic stress. To sustain healthy and productive ocean ecosystems, it is imperative to build baseline data to assess future climatic and environmental changes. Herein, a natural oil seep site offshore western Svalbard (Prins Karls Forland, PKF, 80-100 m water depth), discovered using satellite radar images, was investigated using an extensive multiscale and multisource geospatial dataset collected by satellite, aerial, floating, and underwater platforms. The investigated PKF seep area covers roughly a seafloor area of 30,000 m 2 and discharges oil from Tertiary or younger source rocks. Biomarker analyses confirm that the oil in the slicks on the sea surface and from the seep on the seafloor have the same origin. Uranium/Thorium dating of authigenic carbonate crusts indicated that the seep had emanated since the Late Pleistocene when ice sheet melting unlocked the hydrocarbons trapped beneath the ice. The faunal communities at the PKF seep are a mix of typical high latitude fauna and taxa adapted to reducing environments. Remarkably, the inhospitable oil-impregnated sediments were also colonized by abundant infaunal organisms. Altogether, in situ observations obtained at the site provide essential insights into the characteristics of high-latitude oil seeps and can be used as a natural laboratory for understanding the potential impacts of human oil discharge into the ocean.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare they have no competing interests.
(Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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