Geophysical evidence for mud volcanism associated with the gas hydrate system in the western Ross Sea: a source of methane flux from the lithosphere to the hydrosphere and atmosphere as a greenhouse effect and climate change

Geophysical evidence of mud volcanism associated with the gas hydrate system has been found in the western Ross Sea (Geletti and Busetti, 2011, 2022). The location of the mud volcanoes appears to be closely related to tectonic structures in the area (Sauli et al., 2021). Mud volcanism generally involves voluminous generation and emission of methane and carbon dioxide, implying that most mud volcanoes serve as an efficient, natural source of greenhouse gases and consequently play an important role in global climate dynamics (Judd, 2005). Hence, the system of mud volcanoes and gas-bearing sediments in the western Ross Sea may be a source of methane flux from the lithosphere to the hydrosphere and atmosphere, contributing to a greenhouse effect and climate change. We present a reprocessing of multichannel seismic profiles (AVO and a target velocity analysis) that supports the evidence for a plumbing system feeding the mud volcanoes, with the seafloor leakage of the gas contained in the sedimentary succession of Victoria Land and Northern basins (Geletti and Busetti, 2011, 2022; Barro Savonuzzi et al., in press).