Offshore gas / fluid seeps in Svalbard, RIS: 6112

Pockmark have been reported from several fjords in Svalbard, which are indicators of focused fluid flow in marine and lacustrine environments. Methane emissions from pockmarks, associated with the venting of gas from deep thermogenic sources, potentially unstable gas hydrates or thawing permafrost have implications for the warming Arctic environments . Seabed fluid flow can be recognized on seismic 2D data and on multibeam bathymetric data where the seabed and sub-seabed exhibits pockmarks, acoustic chimn eys and authigenic carbonate build ups that are related to hydrocarbon/fluid migration. Active seepage through the pockmarks in the shallow fjords of Svalbard has not been reported, but hydrocarbon anomalies have been documented in marine sediments of Isf jorden. This project aims at investigating the past and present hydrocarbon seepage in Svalbard by mapping the distribution of pockmarks on the seafloor, studying their link to geological structures, seafloor sediment types and offshore permafrost using m arine geological, geophysical, geochemical and sedimentological data. The project also aims at studying the composition as well as migration paths and mechanisms of natural seeps in order to clarify their potential origin and sources. This is an important part of S. Roy's PhD project, which was granted AFG funding in 2012 but which we unfortunately had to cancel due to major technical problems with Viking Explorer.