Methane seepage and derived structures ubiquitous on the seabeds around the coast of Ireland
This project, in collaboration with the Geological Survey Ireland and Dr Chris Allen of QUB investigated methane seepage in coastal areas around Ireland, specifically from the seabed just off the Irish coast in Dunmanus Bay and the Codling Fault in the Irish Sea, about 30 Km from Dublin. The seepage at both sites results in the formation of different types of seabed surface structures. In Dunmanus Bay, pockmarks are formed, similar to those that are familiar to us on the moon. In the Irish Sea, carbonate mounds form in a natural process that traps the methane. Earlier work surveys a giant pockmark in the Malin Sea.
Worldwide and now in Ireland we are discovering methane seepage from the ocean surface, especially in coastal areas. We are just beginning to see that there are huge amounts of methane escaping the sub-surface. These are only recent studies so getting to grip with how much, if any, reaches the atmosphere will be very important in the near future. The sites in Ireland, so far, do not contain quantities of methane that could be commercially important but their ubiquity means that they could play a huge role in carbon cycling and therefore climate change (methane is at least 20 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas as CO2). Also, the fate of this methane is unsure in seawater that is rising in temperature.
Brian Kelleher's project on methane seepage and derived structures ubiquitous on the seabeds around the coast of Ireland was supported by the Geological Survey of Ireland, the Petroleum Infrastructure Programme and the Irish Research Council.