Antarctic seafloor seeps: A driver of coastal change?

Extensive networks of nutrient-rich fluids and climate-changing gases exist below the surface of Antarctica and connect land to sea. Antarctic warming is increasing the rate and magnitude of glacial melt, altering the pressure on these subsurface networks and potentially impacting the transport of fluids and gases to the marine environment. We have recently identified new seafloor seeps associated with dramatic shifts in the surrounding marine system in the Ross Sea. However, the source, regulating mechanisms and broader impacts of these seeps remains unclear. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, we will test the hypothesis that the seeps are a result of ongoing warming opening up new pathways for fluid and gas exchange in coastal environments. We will use innovative biogeochemical tracers to connect source to sink, in order to identify the origin of the fluid and gas release. Seafloor flux monitoring over seasonal cycles combined with hydrogeologic modelling will determine the mechanisms regulating seepage. Biophysical and ecological observations and data coupled with mātauranga Māori will characterise local to global impacts. This study will provide critical insight into a poorly understood, climate sensitive process of global significance.