An update on dissolved methane distribution in the North subtropical Atlantic Ocean
Methane (CH 4 ) is the second most produced greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, however the role of the open ocean in its natural cycle remains poorly constrained. Accumulating evidence indicates that a significant part of oceanic CH 4 is produced in oxygenated surface waters as a by-product of phy...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:egusphere103438 2023-05-15T17:30:55+02:00 An update on dissolved methane distribution in the North subtropical Atlantic Ocean Kolomijeca, Anna Marx, Lukas Reynolds, Sarah Cariou, Thierry Mawji, Edward Boulart, Cedric 2022-05-23 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-360 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2022/egusphere-2022-360/ eng eng doi:10.5194/egusphere-2022-360 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2022/egusphere-2022-360/ eISSN: Text 2022 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-360 2022-05-30T16:22:42Z Methane (CH 4 ) is the second most produced greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, however the role of the open ocean in its natural cycle remains poorly constrained. Accumulating evidence indicates that a significant part of oceanic CH 4 is produced in oxygenated surface waters as a by-product of phytoplanktonic activity. The subtropical North Atlantic Ocean between 26° N 80’W and 26° N 18’W was investigated for the distribution of dissolved CH 4 concentrations and associated air-sea fluxes during winter 2020. Water samples from 64 stations were collected from the upper water column up to depths of 400 m. The upper oxic mixed-layer was oversaturated in dissolved CH 4 with concentrations ranging between 3–7 nmol/l, with the highest values of 7–10 nmol/l found to the east of the transect, consistent with other subtropical regions of the world’s oceans. The high anomalies of dissolved CH 4 appeared to be associated to phosphorus depleted waters and to a peak of regions of elevated phytoplankton abundance. Further investigations indicated a correlation between CH 4 anomalies, phosphate depletion and the abundance of two ubiquitous pico-cyanobacteria, Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus , although other phytoplanktonic phyla cannot be excluded. The calculation of air-sea fluxes confirms the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean as a source of CH 4 , mainly produced by phytoplanktonic activity in surface waters. Text North Atlantic Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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English |
description |
Methane (CH 4 ) is the second most produced greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, however the role of the open ocean in its natural cycle remains poorly constrained. Accumulating evidence indicates that a significant part of oceanic CH 4 is produced in oxygenated surface waters as a by-product of phytoplanktonic activity. The subtropical North Atlantic Ocean between 26° N 80’W and 26° N 18’W was investigated for the distribution of dissolved CH 4 concentrations and associated air-sea fluxes during winter 2020. Water samples from 64 stations were collected from the upper water column up to depths of 400 m. The upper oxic mixed-layer was oversaturated in dissolved CH 4 with concentrations ranging between 3–7 nmol/l, with the highest values of 7–10 nmol/l found to the east of the transect, consistent with other subtropical regions of the world’s oceans. The high anomalies of dissolved CH 4 appeared to be associated to phosphorus depleted waters and to a peak of regions of elevated phytoplankton abundance. Further investigations indicated a correlation between CH 4 anomalies, phosphate depletion and the abundance of two ubiquitous pico-cyanobacteria, Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus , although other phytoplanktonic phyla cannot be excluded. The calculation of air-sea fluxes confirms the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean as a source of CH 4 , mainly produced by phytoplanktonic activity in surface waters. |
format |
Text |
author |
Kolomijeca, Anna Marx, Lukas Reynolds, Sarah Cariou, Thierry Mawji, Edward Boulart, Cedric |
spellingShingle |
Kolomijeca, Anna Marx, Lukas Reynolds, Sarah Cariou, Thierry Mawji, Edward Boulart, Cedric An update on dissolved methane distribution in the North subtropical Atlantic Ocean |
author_facet |
Kolomijeca, Anna Marx, Lukas Reynolds, Sarah Cariou, Thierry Mawji, Edward Boulart, Cedric |
author_sort |
Kolomijeca, Anna |
title |
An update on dissolved methane distribution in the North subtropical Atlantic Ocean |
title_short |
An update on dissolved methane distribution in the North subtropical Atlantic Ocean |
title_full |
An update on dissolved methane distribution in the North subtropical Atlantic Ocean |
title_fullStr |
An update on dissolved methane distribution in the North subtropical Atlantic Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
An update on dissolved methane distribution in the North subtropical Atlantic Ocean |
title_sort |
update on dissolved methane distribution in the north subtropical atlantic ocean |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-360 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2022/egusphere-2022-360/ |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
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eISSN: |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/egusphere-2022-360 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2022/egusphere-2022-360/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-360 |
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1766128052891287552 |