Carbon mass in gas-hydrate-bound methane compared to other sources of organic carbon

Carbon mass in gas-hydrate-bound methane compared to other sources of organic carbon

Description

A 2008 workshop estimated the global methane content in gas hydrates to range from 1 000 to 10 000 gigatonnes of carbon (GtC) (Krey et al. 2009). Taking a midrange value of 5 000 GtC as an example, gas hydrates would account for ~33 per cent of Earth’s organic carbon (excluding dispersed carbon such as bitumen and kerogen). Other major carbon pools and their mass estimates in GtC are presented here in top-to-bottom order as they are displayed in the figure.