Prins Karls Foreland is a small and elongated island on the western flank of the Svalbard archipelago. It belongs to the system of complex host and graben structures of the West-Spitsbergen fold-and-thrust belt. Intense gas flaring and oil slicks have been observed at this site. Within the scope of the research cruise AKMA 1 (CAGE21-1) under the helm of the Norwegian Centre of Excellence for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at the UiT The Arctic University of Norway, superstation 1 was investigated to understand the effects of gas hydrates and methane seepage systems on our oceans and ecosystems. The dataset includes a list of sediment and carbonate samples collected during CAGE21-1 at Superstation 1 (Prins Karls Foreland) and results for carbon and nitrogen isotopes, dissolved inorgani carbon isotopes, headspace gas, grain size, methane isotopes and foraminifera stable isotope analysis including photomosaics.

Abstract of Related publication

Due to climate change, decreasing ice cover and increasing industrial activities, Arctic marine ecosystems are expected to face higher levels of anthropogenic stress. To sustain healthy and productive ocean ecosystems, it is imperative to build baseline data to assess future changes. Herein, a natural oil seep site offshore western Svalbard (Prins Karls Forland, PKF, 80–100 m water depth), discovered using satellite radar images, was investigated using an extensive multiscale and multisource geospatial dataset collected by satellite, aerial, floating, and underwater platforms. The PKF seep covers roughly a seafloor area of 30,000 m2 and discharges oil from Tertiary or younger source rocks. Biomarker analyses confirm that the oil in the slicks on the sea surface and from the seep on the seafloor have the same origin. Uranium/Thorium dating of authigenic carbonate crusts indicated that the seep had emanated since the Late Pleistocene when ice sheet melting unlocked the hydrocarbons trapped beneath the ice. The faunal communities at the PKF seep are a mix of typical high latitude fauna and taxa adapted to reducing environments. Remarkably, the inhospitable oil-impregnated sediments were also colonized by abundant infaunal organisms. Altogether, in situ observations obtained at the site provide essential insights into the characteristics of high–latitude oil seeps and can be used as a natural laboratory for understanding the potential impacts of human oil discharge into the ocean.