Underway CH4 measurements during POSEIDON cruises POS320/1 and POS348

Coastal upwelling regions have been identified as sites of enhanced CH4 emissions to the atmosphere. The coastal upwelling area off Mauritania (NW Africa) is one of the most biologically productive regions of the world's ocean but its CH4 emissions have not been quantified so far. More than 100...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kock, Annette, Gebhardt, Sarah, Bange, Hermann Werner
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2008
Subjects:
06PO20050321
CT
Northeast Atlantic
POS320/1
POS320/1-track
POS348
POS348-track
Poseidon
SOPRAN
Surface Ocean Processes in the Anthropocene
Tropical NE Atlantic
Underway cruise track measurements
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.849238
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.849238
Description
Summary:Coastal upwelling regions have been identified as sites of enhanced CH4 emissions to the atmosphere. The coastal upwelling area off Mauritania (NW Africa) is one of the most biologically productive regions of the world's ocean but its CH4 emissions have not been quantified so far. More than 1000 measurements of atmospheric and dissolved CH4 in the surface layer in the upwelling area off Mauritania were performed as part of the German SOPRAN (Surface Ocean Processes in the Anthropocene) study during two cruises in March/April 2005 (P320/1) and February 2007 (P348). During P348 enhanced CH4 saturations of up to 200% were found close to the coast and were associated with upwelling of South Atlantic Central Water. An area-weighted, seasonally adjusted estimate yielded overall annual CH4 emissions in the range from 1.6 to 2.9 Gg CH4. Thus the upwelling area off Mauritania represents a regional hot spot of CH4 emissions but seems to be of minor importance for the global oceanic CH4 emissions.

Similar Items