Methane in the Baltic and North Seas and a reassessment of the marine emissions of methane
- Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz (Germany); and others
During three measurement campaigns on the Baltic and North Seas, atmospheric and dissolved methane was determined with an automated gas chromatographic system. Area-weighted mean saturation values in the sea surface waters were 113{+-}5% and 395{+-}82% and 126{+-}8%. On the bases of our data and a compilation of literature data the global oceanic emissions of methane were reassessed by introducing a concept of regional gas transfer coefficients. Our estimates computed with two different air-sea exchange models lie in the range of 11-18 Tg CH{sub 4} yr{sup -1}. Despite the fact that shelf areas and estuaries only represent a small part of the world`s ocean they contribute about 75% to the global oceanic emissions. We applied a simple, coupled, three-layer model to evaluate the time dependent variation of the oceanic flux to the atmosphere. The model calculations indicate that even with increasing tropospheric methane concentration, the ocean will remain a source of atmospheric methane. 72 refs., 7 figs., 7 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 121728
- Journal Information:
- Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 8, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Dec 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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