Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Note on the accompanying website
- List of maps on the accompanying website
- List of contributed presentations on the accompanying website
- 1 Introduction to seabed fluid flow
- 2 Pockmarks, shallow gas, and seeps: an initial appraisal
- 3 Seabed fluid flow around the world
- 4 The contexts of seabed fluid flow
- 5 The nature and origins of flowing fluids
- 6 Shallow gas and gas hydrates
- 7 Migration and seabed features
- 8 Seabed fluid flow and biology
- 9 Seabed fluid flow and mineral precipitation
- 10 Impacts on the hydrosphere and atmosphere
- 11 Implications for man
- References
- Index
10 - Impacts on the hydrosphere and atmosphere
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Note on the accompanying website
- List of maps on the accompanying website
- List of contributed presentations on the accompanying website
- 1 Introduction to seabed fluid flow
- 2 Pockmarks, shallow gas, and seeps: an initial appraisal
- 3 Seabed fluid flow around the world
- 4 The contexts of seabed fluid flow
- 5 The nature and origins of flowing fluids
- 6 Shallow gas and gas hydrates
- 7 Migration and seabed features
- 8 Seabed fluid flow and biology
- 9 Seabed fluid flow and mineral precipitation
- 10 Impacts on the hydrosphere and atmosphere
- 11 Implications for man
- References
- Index
Summary
Although no single, unequivocal proof exists for the hypothesis we present, a broad range of evidence suggests it. We expect reluctance by scientists to support such an idea at this stage without further testing, but if the hypothesis holds, it will require a major shift in thinking about what drives Quaternary climate change.
James Kennett, 2002, in an interview with Lifland about the reaction to his book: Methane hydrates in Quaternary climate change: The Clathrate Gun Hypothesis (Lifland, 2002)Once through the seabed, fluids of any origin contribute to, and in some cases, significantly affect, the marine environment. The chemical, physical, and biological nature of seawater may be affected by seabed fluid flow. Even in the deep oceans, emissions from hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, and mud volcanoes are influential. However, a proportion of some components passes through the hydrosphere and enters the atmosphere. Methane is one of these components. Contributions to atmospheric methane by the oceans, and in particular the seabed, are poorly understood, but may be important not only to today's climate, but also to global climate change over geological time-scales.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Seabed Fluid FlowThe Impact on Geology, Biology and the Marine Environment, pp. 323 - 354Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007