Observations of shallow methane bubble emissions from Cascadia Margin
Date
2021-04-29Author
Michel, Anna P. M.
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Preston, Victoria Lynn
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Fauria, Kristen
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Nicholson, David P.
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Show full item recordCitable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/27361As published
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.613234DOI
10.3389/feart.2021.613234Keyword
methane; bubbles; Cascadia Margin; laser spectrometer; ocean sensing; surface vehicle; multibeam sonar; seepsAbstract
Open questions exist about whether methane emitted from active seafloor seeps reaches the surface ocean to be subsequently ventilated to the atmosphere. Water depth variability, coupled with the transient nature of methane bubble plumes, adds complexity to examining these questions. Little data exist which trace methane transport from release at a seep into the water column. Here, we demonstrate a coupled technological approach for examining methane transport, combining multibeam sonar, a field-portable laser-based spectrometer, and the ChemYak, a robotic surface kayak, at two shallow (<75 m depth) seep sites on the Cascadia Margin. We demonstrate the presence of elevated methane (above the methane equilibration concentration with the atmosphere) throughout the water column. We observe areas of elevated dissolved methane at the surface, suggesting that at these shallow seep sites, methane is reaching the air-sea interface and is being emitted to the atmosphere.
Description
© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Michel, A. P. M., Preston, V. L., Fauria, K. E., & Nicholson, D. P. Observations of shallow methane bubble emissions from Cascadia Margin. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, (2021): 613234, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.613234.
Suggested Citation
Michel, A. P. M., Preston, V. L., Fauria, K. E., & Nicholson, D. P. (2021). Observations of shallow methane bubble emissions from Cascadia Margin. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, 613234.The following license files are associated with this item:
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