Project: Methane emission in the Baltic Sea: Gas storage and effects of climate change and eutrophication
Predicted climate change and long-term eutrophication can accelerate methane generation and potentially exceed the natural gas storage capacity of the seabed. Hot-spots of shallow gas enhance the emission of green-house active methane and of toxic hydrogen sulfide and pose hazards to off-shore seabed structures and technologies. BALTIC GAS aims to understand how climate change and long-term eutrophication affect the accumulation of shallow gas and the emission of methane and hydrogen sulfide from the seabed to the water column and atmosphere. The outcome of the project will be a new understanding and quantitative synthesis of the dynamics and budget of methane in the seabed, an important but poorly understood component of the Baltic ecosystem response to natural and human- induced impacts. The project aims to develop a predictive model of gas accumulation and emission under realistic scenarios of climate change and eutrophication, which will improve the knowledge base for necessary future policy actions. The multidisciplinary project will involve 12 partner institutions from 5 nations and will apply modern advanced technology and novel combinations of approaches. Seismo-acoustic mapping and strategic coring for geochemical analyses will be combined in key areas. New and existing data will be combined in a database, functionalized for end users through GIS mapping and through retrospective and predictive modeling of methane in the Baltic Sea
| Acronym | BALTIC GAS (Reference Number: 73) |
| Duration | 01/01/2009 - 31/12/2011 |
| Project Topic | environmental research / understanding climate change and geophysical forcing |
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Project Results (after finalisation) |
http://www.bonusportal.org/files/1325/BONUS_Briefing_6_BALTIC_GAS.pdf |
| Website | visit project website |
| Network | BONUS+ |
| Call | BONUS+ Call in 2007 |