cold seeps
cold seeps on World Data Ocean: a running collection of 2 stories we have gathered and hand-picked because they are worth your time. Every post here touches on cold seeps in some way — the news, the analysis, the deep dives, and the occasional surprise find. A Global Hub for Ocean Intelligence 4 World Data Ocean is a centralized digital platform where researchers, scientists, and ocean enthusiasts converge to explore, analyze, and… New stories are added to this page as we find them, so check back if you want to keep up with what is happening around cold seeps, or subscribe to the RSS feed to get them as soon as they are published. Browse the collection below, or head back to the homepage to see everything World Data Ocean is covering right now.
Unveiling deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the northern South China Sea through environmental DNA metabarcoding
A comprehensive environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding study has revealed unprecedented insights into the benthic biodiversity of the northern South China Sea’s Qiongdongnan Basin, a region critical for natural gas hydrate resources. Researchers identified 334 benthic faunal species across cold seeps, gas hydrate stable zones, and non-gas hydrate zones, demonstrating clear habitat-specific community structures largely governed by deterministic processes like variable selection.
Cold seeps: climate relevance and anthropogenic impacts
Cold seeps, deep-sea features releasing hydrocarbon-rich fluids, represent significant conduits for carbon transfer from geologic stores to the ocean. As methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is released, these seeps’ global distribution underscores their often-overlooked role in global carbon cycling. Hosting unique chemosynthetic ecosystems and providing “blue carbon” services, cold seeps offer vital climate-regulating functions—including carbon reservoir storage and natural emission reduction.