In 10,000 years, the atmosphere-ocean system will still show measurable amounts of the carbon dioxide that has been released, mainly through the burning of fossil fuels (so-called anthropogenic CO₂), by humans during the 21st Century.The global warming caused by this activity will thus also last into the distant future and not only affect the atmosphere and the oceans, but eventually also the sea floor. Scientists assume that this will have severe effects on the ecosystems located there.
Large quantities of methane are deposited in the form of gas hydrates in the sediments on the continental rise and continental slope. These hydrates remain stable only at low temperatures. In the case of warming, these gas hydrates melt and methane is released into the ocean, a process which in turn changes the proportion of gases relevant to the climate in the future atmosphere. In essence, this is a feedback loop. Initial research models produced by Kiel demonstrate that approximately 85 percent of the gargantuan methane deposits will become unstable if the temperature of the seafloor increases by 3°C.

A unique fauna and flora lives on the sea floor (benthos) and is adapted to the low prevailing ambient temperatures (-1.8°C to +4°C) in polar waters and in the deep sea. Warming of the sea floor will therefore strongly affect one of the largest and most species-rich ecosystems, with consequences that are as yet unknown.

Contact

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• Prof. Tina Treude

  Institution:

  Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften (IFM-GEOMAR)

  Phone:

  +49 431 600-28 37

  E-mail:

  ttreude@ifm-geomar.de

• Prof. Klaus Wallmann

  Institution:

  Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften (IFM-GEOMAR)

  Phone:

  +49 431 600-2287

  E-mail:

  kwallmann@ifm-geomar.de

• Prof. Martin Wahl

  Institution:

  Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften (IFM-GEOMAR)

  Phone:

  +49 431 600-4577

  E-mail:

  mwahl@ifm-geomar.de