Sea Ice Modulates Air–Sea Methane Flux in the Southern Ocean
Abstract The Southern Ocean (SO) is predicted to be a weak sink for atmospheric CH4, although the magnitude is uncertain due to a lack of observations of the marginal ice zone (MIZ). Using both eddy covariance and bulk formula flux measurements from the icebreaker R/V Xuelong2, we found that the eas...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112073 |
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| author | Gong Zhang Qinghua Yang Bo Han John Prytherch Brett F. Thornton Dake Chen |
| author_facet | Gong Zhang Qinghua Yang Bo Han John Prytherch Brett F. Thornton Dake Chen |
| author_sort | Gong Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Southern Ocean (SO) is predicted to be a weak sink for atmospheric CH4, although the magnitude is uncertain due to a lack of observations of the marginal ice zone (MIZ). Using both eddy covariance and bulk formula flux measurements from the icebreaker R/V Xuelong2, we found that the eastern SO during an austral summer was a sink for CH4. The strongest downward CH4 fluxes occurred in areas of low sea ice concentration (10%–40%), where sea‐ice melting resulted in low temperature and salinity, increasing CH4 solubility. The CH4 fluxes are weak in regions of high sea ice concentration (>50%) due to the blocking effect of sea ice. We estimate that the uptake of CH4 during one summer month in the study region offsets 1.2%–2.6% of annual global oceanic CH4 emissions. Suggesting that the Antarctic MIZ is more important in the global CH4 budget than previously thought. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d1904e2397bf4124bbfe0c3081ded001 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-d1904e2397bf4124bbfe0c3081ded0012025-01-20T13:05:57ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-01-01521n/an/a10.1029/2024GL112073Sea Ice Modulates Air–Sea Methane Flux in the Southern OceanGong Zhang0Qinghua Yang1Bo Han2John Prytherch3Brett F. Thornton4Dake Chen5School of Atmospheric Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) Zhuhai ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) Zhuhai ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) Zhuhai ChinaDeptartment of Earth Sciences Uppsala University Uppsala SwedenBolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm SwedenSchool of Atmospheric Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) Zhuhai ChinaAbstract The Southern Ocean (SO) is predicted to be a weak sink for atmospheric CH4, although the magnitude is uncertain due to a lack of observations of the marginal ice zone (MIZ). Using both eddy covariance and bulk formula flux measurements from the icebreaker R/V Xuelong2, we found that the eastern SO during an austral summer was a sink for CH4. The strongest downward CH4 fluxes occurred in areas of low sea ice concentration (10%–40%), where sea‐ice melting resulted in low temperature and salinity, increasing CH4 solubility. The CH4 fluxes are weak in regions of high sea ice concentration (>50%) due to the blocking effect of sea ice. We estimate that the uptake of CH4 during one summer month in the study region offsets 1.2%–2.6% of annual global oceanic CH4 emissions. Suggesting that the Antarctic MIZ is more important in the global CH4 budget than previously thought.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112073air‐sea fluxCH4marginal ice zonesouthern ocean |
| spellingShingle | Gong Zhang Qinghua Yang Bo Han John Prytherch Brett F. Thornton Dake Chen Sea Ice Modulates Air–Sea Methane Flux in the Southern Ocean Geophysical Research Letters air‐sea flux CH4 marginal ice zone southern ocean |
| title | Sea Ice Modulates Air–Sea Methane Flux in the Southern Ocean |
| title_full | Sea Ice Modulates Air–Sea Methane Flux in the Southern Ocean |
| title_fullStr | Sea Ice Modulates Air–Sea Methane Flux in the Southern Ocean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sea Ice Modulates Air–Sea Methane Flux in the Southern Ocean |
| title_short | Sea Ice Modulates Air–Sea Methane Flux in the Southern Ocean |
| title_sort | sea ice modulates air sea methane flux in the southern ocean |
| topic | air‐sea flux CH4 marginal ice zone southern ocean |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112073 |
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