Gas hydrate stability and geology linked with the occurrence of flares and pockmarks in the Svalbard fjords

While natural gas hydrates (NGH) in the off-shore provinces of Vestnesa Ridge on the continental slope west of Svalbard and Prinz Karl Forland are extensively studied, near-shore NGH potential in Svalbard fjords is poorly constrained. It is crucial to understand and estimate the presence of near-shore NGHs to assess the hydrate-related resource potential, mitigate hydrate-related geohazards, and constrain uncertainties in future climate scenarios in a moment when dissociation of NGHs has been documented in the Russian Arctic. The hydrate dissociation could result in positive feedbacks enhancing polar amplification and global warming. Modelling the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) has defined that the majority of Svalbard's fjords feature at least seasonally-favorable thermobaric conditions for NGH formation. Moreover, several studies have documented evidence of indirect hydrates indicators featuring in Isfjorden and other fjords of the Svalbard archipelago. However, a comparison between the shallow gas occurrences with the seabed geological features is missing in the major part of Isfjorden. To account for this need, a 5-day cruise is planned in May 2021 to acquire hydrographic and bathymetric data in shallow parts of Isfjorden, where data was acquired in September 2015. By doing so, we aim to correlate the shallow gas occurrence in the seabed with the fjords' geological setting and compare the flares characteristics between spring and summer season. This study will increase the knowledge about Svalbard's subsurface fluid flow migration's pillar, contributing valuable scientific data to the current hydrographic datasets. It will help evaluate whether the observed phenomena could respond to the presence of near-shore NGH and constrain uncertainties in future climate scenarios related to possible NGH dissociation.