Mechanistic insights into a hydrate contribution to the Paleocene-Eocene carbon cycle perturbation from coupled thermohydraulic simulations

Minshull, T.A.; Marin-Moreno, H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3412-1359; Armstrong McKay, D.I.; Wilson, P.A.. 2016 Mechanistic insights into a hydrate contribution to the Paleocene-Eocene carbon cycle perturbation from coupled thermohydraulic simulations. Geophysical Research Letters, 43 (16). 8637-8644. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069676

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© Publisher 2016 This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Minshull, T.A., Marin-Moreno, H., Armstrong Mckay, D.I. and Wilson, P.A. (2016) Mechanistic insights into a hydrate contribution to the Paleocene-Eocene carbon cycle perturbation from coupled thermohydraulic simulations. Geophysical Research Letters, 43, (16), 8637-8644 which has been published in final form at doi:10.1002/2016GL069676. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069676

Abstract/Summary

During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the carbon isotopic signature (δ13C) of surface carbon-bearing phases decreased abruptly by at least 2.5 to 3.0‰. This carbon isotope excursion (CIE) has been attributed to widespread methane hydrate dissociation in response to rapid ocean warming. We ran a thermohydraulic modeling code to simulate hydrate dissociation due to ocean warming for various PETM scenarios. Our results show that hydrate dissociation in response to such warming can be rapid but suggest that methane release to the ocean is modest and delayed by hundreds to thousands of years after the onset of dissociation, limiting the potential for positive feedback from emission-induced warming. In all of our simulations at least half of the dissociated hydrate methane remains beneath the seabed, suggesting that the pre-PETM hydrate inventory needed to account for all of the CIE is at least double that required for isotopic mass balance.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069676
ISSN:	00948276
Additional Keywords:	hydrate, methane, PETM
Date made live:	21 Dec 2016 13:44 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/515638

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069676

ISSN:

00948276

Additional Keywords:

hydrate, methane, PETM

Date made live:

21 Dec 2016 13:44 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/515638