Marine hydrocarbon seepage emits oil and gas, including methane (≈30 Tg of CH4 per year), to the ocean and atmosphere. Sediments from the California margin contain preserved tar, primarily formed through hydrocarbon weathering at the sea surface. We present a record of variation in the abundance of tar in sediments for the past 32,000 years, providing evidence for increases in hydrocarbon emissions before and during Termination IA [16,000 years ago (16 ka) to 14 ka] and again over Termination IB (11-10 ka). Our study provides direct evidence for increased hydrocarbon seepage associated with deglacial warming through tar abundance in marine sediments, independent of previous geochemical proxies. Climate-sensitive gas hydrates may modulate thermogenic hydrocarbon seepage during deglaciation. © 2006 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA.
CITATION STYLE
Hill, T. M., Kennett, J. P., Valentine, D. L., Yang, Z., Reddy, C. M., Nelson, R. K., … Beaufort, L. (2006). Climatically driven emissions of hydrocarbons from marine sediments during deglaciation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103(37), 13570–13574. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0601304103
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