Dr. Claudio Argentino obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy) in 2019 and is now Research Scientist at UiT The Arctic University of Norway (Norway). He has conducted research at the University of New Hampshire (USA), Hamburg University (Germany) and Stockholm University (Sweden). Claudio’s research interests revolve around the sediment biogeochemistry of Arctic deep-sea extreme environments, i.e. hydrocarbon seeps (gas- and oil-dominated) and hydrothermal vents, and marine ecosystems affected by anthropogenic activities. His expertise includes sediment and pore fluid geochemistry and authigenic carbonates. He has published on international journals such as Science of the Total Environment, Scientific Reports, Chemical Geology, Limology and Oceanography:Methods, and led expeditions along the Norwegian coast.
Natural carbon sequestration in marine sediments: authigenic carbonate precipitation in Arctic methane seepage environments
Methane seepage is widespread at continental margins, reflecting the distribution of major geologic reservoirs, gas hydrates and permafrost. Biogeochemical processes taking place during gas migration through the sediment drastically reduce the amount of methane eventually reaching the surface, thus representing a critical biofilter. Those processes are accompanied by the precipitation of authigenic carbonate minerals which survive throughout the geological record, thus representing a natural pathway for long-term methane-derived carbon sequestration. Here, I will show some case studies from modern methane seeps located in the Norwegian Arctic and ancient seep-impacted marine deposits now exposed on land.
