LARGE-SCALE ABSENCE OF RELIC PERMAFROST AND GAS HYDRATES ON THE CHUKCHI SEA SHELF

Bogoyavlensky, V. I., Kishankov, A. V.

Oil and Gas Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russian Federation)

The article was received on February 17, 2026

Bibliographic description: Bogoyavlensky V. I., Kishankov A. V. Large-scale absence of relic permafrost and gas hydrates on the Chukchi Sea shelf. Arctic: Ecology and Economy, 2026, vol. 16, no. 2, p. 168—180. DOI: 10.25283/2223-4594-2026-2-168-180.

Abstract:  For the first time, a large volume of refracted wave records in the first arrivals of common shot gathers along 15 common depth point (CDP) seismic lines of JSC Dalmorneftegeofizika and JSC Sevmorneftegeofizika with a total length of approximately 2,730 km (including 800 km in the eastern part of the East Siberian Sea) has been processed and comprehensively analyzed for a shallow-water (up to 120 m) area of 290 thousand km² in the Russian sector of the Chukchi Sea. It has been demonstrated that the degradation of subsea relic permafrost (PF) cemented by ice has mainly completed almost in the entire studied area, also dissociation of associated cryogenic gas hydrates has occurred. The preservation of hard-frozen ground in the coastal strip, which requires additional research, as well as sparse patchy PF (frozen ground) in the final stages of degradation, is possible. Given the negative results of studies conducted by German and American scientists on the existence of relic PF in the American sector of the Chukchi Sea based on the processing of reflection wave records, it is possible to predict a large-scale absence of relic PF and gas hydrates on the Chukchi Sea shelf over an area of 480 thousand km². The results are consistent with data from drilling of a number of wells, and they differ significantly from the results of other studies, primarily based on mathematical modeling.

Keywords: Chukchi Sea, CDP seismic exploration, refracted waves, permafrost (PF), patchy PF, gas hydrates

Funding:  The research was carried out according to the state assignment of the Oil and Gas Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences on the topic “Increasing the efficiency and ecological safety of development of hydrocarbon resources of the shelf and adjacent land of the Russian Arctic and Subarctic regions in conditions of changing climate” (no. 125020501403-7).

Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to the management of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Rosgeolfond” of the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources for the provided opportunity to use archival materials of the 2D CDP seis-mic exploration by JSC “Dalmorneftegeofizika” and JSC “Sevmorneftegeofizika” in the Chukchi Sea. 

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