Hydrocarbons escaping the seafloor can profoundly impact the marine, regional, and global environment. This session brings together hydrocarbon seep studies on methane, oil, and other gas emissions from gas hydrate fields, thermogenic hydrocarbon resource fields, and biogenic sources. Marine seepage of interest spans the intertidal to continental margins to deep continental slopes sites, with similar and different underlying processes. Additionally, the role of lacustrine seepage is generally poorly constrained, although significant, particularly in the Arctic.

Comprehensive data sets, data archives, and in particular, new cross-cutting technologies are needed to fill in numerous knowledge gaps including: assessing temporal variability in fast changing geologic regions like the Arctic, geological factors controlling spatial and temporal variability, geo-energy potential, and identifying impacts throughout the food chain, from microbial to top predators including fisheries.