NEW DATA ON THE PATTERNS OF METHANE DISTRIBUTION OVER THE ARCTIC SHELF OF EURASIA

Abstract

New results of the analysis of methane distribution in the troposphere over the Arctic shelf of Eurasia using satellite methods are presented. The main trends in the variability of methane content (increase), temperature (fluctuations without a pronounced trend) and ice cover for the period 2010–2022 are shown. Conclusions are made about the difference in the distributions of atmospheric methane over the western and eastern Eurasian Arctic, divided by the zone of the seismically active lineament of the Gakkel Ridge. It is shown that hydrometeorological parameters, including temperature and ice formation, are probably not the main factors for increasing the methane content in the atmosphere of the Eurasian Arctic shelf. The increase in methane content is associated with regional factors that are widespread over vast areas, such are, first of all, geological structures: oil and gas basins and tectonic fragmentation of the lithosphere, which forms permeability zones.