Extensive release of methane from Arctic seabed west of Svalbard during summer 2014 does not influence the atmosphere

Autor(en)
C. Lund Myhre, B. Ferré, S. M. Platt, A. Silyakova, O. Hermansen, G. Allen, I. Pisso, N. Schmidbauer, A. Stohl, J. Pitt, P. Jansson, J. Greinert, C. Percival, A. M. Fjaeraa, S. J. O'Shea, M. Gallagher, M. Le Breton, K. N. Bower, S. J.B. Bauguitte, S. Dalsøren, S. Vadakkepuliyambatta, R. E. Fisher, E. G. Nisbet, D. Lowry, G. Myhre, J. A. Pyle, M. Cain, J. Mienert
Abstrakt

We find that summer methane (CH4) release from seabed sediments west of Svalbard substantially increases CH4 concentrations in the ocean but has limited influence on the atmospheric CH4 levels. Our conclusion stems from complementary measurements at the seafloor, in the ocean, and in the atmosphere from land-based, ship and aircraft platforms during a summer campaign in 2014. We detected high concentrations of dissolved CH4 in the ocean above the seafloor with a sharp decrease above the pycnocline. Model approaches taking potential CH4 emissions from both dissolved and bubble-released CH4 from a larger region into account reveal a maximum flux compatible with the observed atmospheric CH4 mixing ratios of 2.4-3.8 nmol m-2 s-1. This is too low to have an impact on the atmospheric summer CH4 budget in the year 2014. Long-term ocean observatories may shed light on the complex variations of Arctic CH4 cycles throughout the year.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Meteorologie und Geophysik
Externe Organisation(en)
Norwegian Institute for Air Research, University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway, National Centre for Atmospheric Sciences (NCAS), University of Manchester, GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurments (FAAM), Natural Environment Research Council, Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, University of London, University of Cambridge
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Band
43
Seiten
4624-4631
Anzahl der Seiten
8
ISSN
0094-8276
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068999
Publikationsdatum
05-2016
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
105206 Meteorologie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Geophysics, Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 13 – Maßnahmen zum Klimaschutz
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/extensive-release-of-methane-from-arctic-seabed-west-of-svalbard-during-summer-2014-does-not-influence-the-atmosphere(94698dd3-2546-4ef6-ac4f-681609add1a5).html