A groundbreaking international research study spearheaded by Christoph Böttner from Aarhus University has unveiled compelling evidence of extensive natural hydrocarbon seepage along the Northeast Greenland continental shelf, a region previously one of the least explored on Earth. This discovery marks a pivotal advancement in Arctic geoscience, shedding light on the profound natural processes occurring in this remote, icy frontier. The implications of this seepage are far-reaching, influencing both our understanding of Arctic carbon dynamics and the evolving global climate system.
Natural hydrocarbon seepage, including methane emissions, has long been recognized as a crucial component of the Earth’s carbon cycle. However, capturing detailed data on these emissions, especially from inaccessible polar continental margins, has remained a formidable challenge. This new study combines novel fieldwork conducted in the frigid waters off Northeast Greenland with robust datasets collected from prior industry-led expeditions. Such a comprehensive approach has enabled scientists to trace the migration pathways of hydrocarbons from their subterranean sources through the sedimentary layers and ultimately into the ocean, providing an unprecedented look at these natural phenomena.
Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, plays a significant role in climate dynamics. The researchers’ findings offer critical insights about methane’s natural flux within the Arctic, distinguishing long-term natural seepages from emissions potentially intensified by anthropogenic climate change and rising ocean temperatures. This differentiation is essential for refining climate models and predicting future greenhouse gas dynamics. Christoph Böttner emphasizes that understanding these emissions’ baseline conditions is vital to comprehending how ongoing environmental changes may alter the Arctic’s contribution to global carbon cycles.
Northeast Greenland’s continental shelf is emerging as an invaluable natural laboratory for studying these processes. Its remoteness and the complexity of its geological history, shaped over millennia by glaciers, ice movements, tectonic shifts, and erosive forces, have left the area understudied until now. The region’s dynamic transformation under rapidly changing Arctic conditions positions it uniquely to reveal how natural oil and gas seepage responds to shifts in environmental parameters, including sea temperature increases and ice cover retreat.
Adding further weight to the significance of this research, co-author Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz, Professor at Aarhus University’s Department of Geoscience, highlights the broader ecological and climatic context. Oil and gas seepage does more than influence carbon fluxes; it affects marine ecosystems from microscopic organisms to larger fauna adapted to polar marine environments. These hydrocarbons shape biological processes and food webs in ways that are only now beginning to be understood, underscoring the interconnectedness of geological and biological systems in the Arctic.
Climate change’s impact on the Arctic’s thermal regime is exceptional, with warming rates up to four times the global average. This accelerated warming profoundly influences the stability of methane reservoirs within the continental shelf sediments. The study provides the first direct evidence for gas hydrates—ice-like crystalline substances formed by the trapping of gas molecules within water molecules under high-pressure and low-temperature conditions—in this region. Gas hydrates represent a significant potential source of methane emissions if destabilized by rising temperatures and changing pressure regimes, an outcome that could create positive feedback loops amplifying global warming.
Frank Werner Jakobsen, a PhD researcher focusing on Northeast Greenland sediments at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, clarifies that understanding the gas hydrates’ current state, spatial distribution, and vulnerability to environmental changes is crucial for predicting future methane emissions. Moreover, the research contributes valuable knowledge regarding the geological evolution of the seafloor, elucidating how glacial retreat, sediment transport, and tectonic activity have molded the subaquatic landscape over thousands of years, subsequently influencing hydrocarbon migration pathways.
The team quantified that since the last glacial period ended roughly 15,000 years ago, between 677 and 1,460 million tonnes of hydrocarbon gases—equivalent to 0.5 to 1.1 billion tonnes of carbon—have seeped naturally into the ocean. This extensive, prolonged activity highlights natural seepage’s role as not merely a contemporary process but a long-standing geological phenomenon. Such data are vital for contextualizing modern emissions and evaluating anthropogenic impacts against natural background levels.
Importantly, the research forewarns that future hydrocarbon releases could accelerate in response to ongoing warming of Arctic waters. As sea temperatures rise, destabilization of gas hydrates and enhanced seepage could contribute additional methane to the atmosphere, heightening concerns over feedback mechanisms in climate change scenarios. Christoph Böttner underscores the need for comprehensive baseline data sets to inform these predictions and guide climate models more accurately, emphasizing that many Arctic shelf areas remain uncharted in terms of hydrocarbon seepage status.
Despite the clear evidence and implications, the broader ecological and global climatic consequences of pervasive hydrocarbon seepage in the Arctic remain insufficiently understood. The study’s integrative approach closes a critical gap by elucidating seepage patterns and their interaction with widespread geological and environmental changes, providing a foundation for deeper inquiry into methane’s role in polar carbon budgets and ecosystem dynamics.
Given the rapid transformation of polar regions under the force of climate change, factoring natural methane emissions from Arctic shelves into predictive climate models is imperative. The research team advocates for incorporating their comprehensive findings into future climate projections, improving the accuracy of greenhouse gas budgets and anticipating potential shifts in global climate trajectories. Their work calls attention to the Arctic as a vital, albeit vulnerable, component of Earth’s climate system.
Ultimately, this pioneering study of the Northeast Greenland continental shelf’s hydrocarbon dynamics not only enhances our scientific understanding of Arctic natural methane cycles but also highlights the urgency of continued exploration and monitoring. As global warming advances, insights like these are essential for informing mitigation strategies, environmental policies, and our collective response to the challenges posed by climate change’s accelerating pace in Earth’s polar regions.
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: Natural hydrocarbon seepage at the Northeast Greenland continental shelf
News Publication Date: 12-Nov-2025
Web References: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02932-8
References: Böttner, C., Seidenkrantz, M.-S., Jakobsen, F. W., et al. (2025). Natural hydrocarbon seepage at the Northeast Greenland continental shelf. Nature Communications Earth & Environment. DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02932-8
Image Credits: Not provided
Keywords: Arctic Hydrocarbon Seepage, Methane Emissions, Gas Hydrates, Northeast Greenland, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle, Marine Geoscience, Arctic Warming, Seafloor Geology
