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Natural marine seepage blowout: Contribution to atmospheric methane
Marine Sciences Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
Earth Science Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
Earth Science Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
Earth Science Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
The release of methane sequestered within deep-sea methane hydrates is postulated as a mechanism for abrupt climate change; however, whether emitted seabed methane reaches the atmosphere is debatable. We observed methane emissions for a blowout from a shallow (22 m) hydrocarbon seep. The emission from the blowout was determined from atmospheric plume measurements. Simulations suggest a 1.1% gas loss to dissolution compared to ∼10% loss for a typical low-flux bubble plume. Transfer to the atmosphere primarily was enhanced by the rapid upwelling flows induced by the massive discharge. This mechanism could allow methane suddenly released from deeper (>250 m) waters to contribute significantly to atmospheric methane budgets.
Received 7 December 2005; accepted 6 March 2006; published 20 July 2006.
Citation: (2006), Natural marine seepage blowout: Contribution to atmospheric methane, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 20, GB3008, doi:10.1029/2005GB002668.
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