6.3.1 Gas Hydrates in the Global Environment: Potential for Sustainable Development of Society and Impact on Climate Transformation
Igor Semiletov
Project Leader
Context of Research Project within a Subject of Human Capital
Studying the natural resource potential of gas hydrates and the risks associated with their development is a priority: special programs and plans for the industrial development of gas hydrates have been developed in the United States, Japan, Canada, India, China and a number of other countries. This interest is primarily due to the possibility of using gas hydrates as a potential source of natural gas to meet the energy needs of the economy. In the context of human potential, research in this subject area is relevant both because of the risks associated with anthropogenic pressures on the environment and the opportunities for sustainable economic growth, acting as a major resource for human development.
The research project Gas Hydrates in the Global Environment: Potential for Sustainable Development of Society and Impact on Climate Transformation is aimed at developing an international system for assessing, prognosing and informing about the risks associated with the release and salvo emissions of methane into the atmosphere, the source of which are gas hydrates, the stability of which is controlled by the state of permafrost
Project Aim
Developing a system for monitoring and managing the risks of uncontrolled natural release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the source of which are offshore gas hydrates and other geological reservoirs (pools) of methane, as well as quantitative assessment of their massive emissions
Project period
2020-2025
Project Objectives:
- Assessing the potential and risks of using Arctic gas hydrates for the sustainable development of society, as well as obtaining new unique knowledge about the mechanism of degradation of permafrost
- Assessing the current and expected emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as a result of the destabilization of gas hydrates in the context of the impact on climate transformation
- Creating a data bank on the state of the permafrost in the context of identifying places of massive methane discharge due to the destabilization of hydrates, which is necessary to ensure the safety of the development of shelf resources and the operation of the Northern Sea Route
- Assessing the negative impact of disturbed methane hydrate and other greenhouse gases, including the role of oxidation of dissolved methane to carbon dioxide (acidification effect), on the stability of ecosystems and the risks of occurrence of natural phenomena dangerous to life and health of the population
Key Findings
2020
The data bank has been expanded to assess the contribution of methane and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere as a result of the destabilization of gas hydrates in the context of the impact on climate transformation, and data on the state of permafrost in the context of identifying places of massive methane release due to the destabilization of hydrates (for use in the development of measures to improve the safety of offshore resources development and operation of the Northern Sea Route
2021
The scale of methane emissions from key areas of massive release has been revealed, and the environmental consequences of the oxidation of dissolved methane to carbon dioxide have been estimated. Based on the results of field studies in 2021, unique information has been obtained that made it possible to significantly expand the database of complex biogeochemical, geophysical and geological data to assess the contribution of methane emissions to the atmosphere due to the destabilization of gas hydrates and clarify the role of progressive degradation of permafrost in the scale of methane emissions from the bottom sediments of the Arctic seas of Russia
Publications
- Report Impacts of Climate Change on Human Potential, Economy and Ecosystems. (RU) Authors: Veronika Vinogradova, Olga Glezer, Raisa Gracheva, Alexandra Dorina, Alexander Zolotokrylin, Alexander Kotov, Nikolay Kurichev, Boris Morgunov, Vladimir Potashnikov, Andrey Ptichnikov, Liliana Proskuryakova, George Safonov, Yulia Safonova, Anastasia Semakina, Igor Semiletov, Anton Sizonov, Andrey Stetsenko, Tatiana Titkova, Natalia Shakhova, Alexander Sheludkov. National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow: HSE, 2022
- Report Sustainable Development during the Pandemic: Natural Resources, Climate Change and Territorial Resilience (RU). Authors: Veronika Vinogradova, Raisa Gracheva, Alexandra Dorina, Alexander Kotov, Nikolay Kurichev, Boris Morgunov, Boris Morgunov, Vladimir Potashnikov, Liliana Proskuryakova, Andrey Ptichnikov, Georgy Safonov, Julia Safonova, Anastasia Semakina, Igor Semiletov, Anton Sizonov, Andrey Stetsenko, Ivan Frolov, Elena Cherenkova and Natalya Shakhova. National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow: HSE, 2022
- Chuvilin, E., Bukhanov, B., Yurchenko, A., Davletshina, D., Shakhova, N., Spivak, E., Rusakov, V., Dudarev, O., Khaustova, N., Tikhonova, A., Gustafsson, O., Tesi, T., Martens, J., Jakobsson, M., Spasennykh, M., and I. Semiletov, In-situ temperatures and thermal properties of the East Siberian Arctic shelf sediments: Key input for understanding the dynamics of subsea permafrost. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2022, ISSN: 0264-8172, Vol: 138, Page: 105550,DOI10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2022.105550
- Krylov, A.A.; Kovachev, S.A.; Radiuk, E.A.;Roginskiy, K.A.; Novikov, M.A.;Samylina, O.S.; Lobkovsky, L.I.;Semiletov, I.P. MatNERApor— A Matlab Package for Numerical Modeling of Nonlinear Response of Porous Saturated Soil Deposits to P-and SH-Waves Propagation. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 4614. doi
- Chuvilin, E., Ekimova, V., Davletshina, D., Krivokhat, D., Shilenkov, V., and B. Bukhanov. Pressure Influence on Salt Migration in Frozen Hydrate-Saturated Sediments: Experimental Modeling, Energy & Fuels, 2022, DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.2c01282
- Yakushev, E., Gebruk, A., Osadchiev, A., Chernykh, D., Semiletov, I. et al. Microplastics distribution in the Eurasian Arctic is affected by Atlantic waters and Siberian rivers. Commun Earth Environ 2, 23 (2021). doi
- Chernykh D. et al. (2023) First calibrated methane bubble wintertime observations in the Siberian Arctic seas: Selected results from the fast ice //Geosciences. – 2023. – Т. 13. – №. 8. – С. 228. doi
- Chuvilin E. et al. (2023) Thermal Conductivity of Frozen and Unfrozen Gas-Saturated Soils //Geosciences. – 2023. – Т. 13. – №. 11. – С. 347. doi
Conferences
XXII April International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development (Moscow, Russia, April 13-30, 2021):
- Special Round Table Sustainable Development during a Pandemic: Natural Resources, Climate Change and Territorial Resilience (15/04/2021)
Ocean Science Meeting 2022 (Honolulu, HI, USA, February 27- March 4, 2022):
- Igor P. Semiletov Methane release from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf and its connection with permafrost and hydrate destabilization: lessons learned from 20yrs complex studies (presentation 9006)
XXIII Yasin (April) International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development (Moscow, Russia, April 5-22, 2022):
- Special Round Table Sustainable Development in Unstable Times - is it Time to Reformat the Plans (07/04/ 2022)