A critical question for assessing global greenhouse gas budgets is how much of the methane that escapes from seafloor cold seep sites to the overlying water column eventually crosses the sea-air interface and reaches the atmosphere. The issue is particularly important in Arctic Ocean waters since rapid warming there increases the likelihood that gas hydrate--an ice-like form of methane and water stable at particular pressure and temperature conditions within marine sediments--will break down and release its ...

Determining how much methane and carbon dioxide cross the sea-air interface is critical when assessing marine greenhouse gas fluxes. This assessment is particularly important on Arctic Ocean continental margins, where rapid climate change is thawing glacial ice and permafrost; reducing sea ice cover; and changing water temperatures, salinities, nutrient loads, and ocean currents. This dataset was collected in the Sherard Osborn Fjord and adjacent areas of the Nares Strait and Lincoln Sea on the northern ...