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 CH 4 , 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 CH 4 . The strongest downward CH 4 fluxes occurred in areas of low sea ice concentration (10%–40%), where sea‐ice melting resulted in low temperature and salinity, increasing CH 4 solubility. The CH 4 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 CH 4 during one summer month in the study region offsets 1.2%–2.6% of annual global oceanic CH 4 emissions. Suggesting that the Antarctic MIZ is more important in the global CH 4 budget than previously thought.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2024-12-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl112073
Primary Topic
Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Sea Ice Modulates Air–Sea Methane Flux in the Southern Ocean

Gong Zhang, John Prytherch, Dake Chen, Bo Han et al.
Geophysical Research Letters
Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
article

Sea Ice Modulates Air–Sea Methane Flux in the Southern Ocean

Gong Zhang, John Prytherch, Dake Chen, Bo Han, Qinghua Yang, Brett F. Thornton
article en

Abstract

Abstract The Southern Ocean (SO) is predicted to be a weak sink for atmospheric CH 4 , 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 CH 4 . The strongest downward CH 4 fluxes occurred in areas of low sea ice concentration (10%–40%), where sea‐ice melting resulted in low temperature and salinity, increasing CH 4 solubility. The CH 4 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 CH 4 during one summer month in the study region offsets 1.2%–2.6% of annual global oceanic CH 4 emissions. Suggesting that the Antarctic MIZ is more important in the global CH 4 budget than previously thought.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 52(1)
Uppsala University (SE), Sun Yat-sen University (CN), Stockholm University (SE), Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) (CN), Jiangxi Academy of Forestry (CN), Bolin Centre for Climate Research (SE), Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Sun Yat-sen University, Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, Polar Research Institute of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 79%
Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
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