Dissolved methane concentration profiles and air-sea fluxes from 41°S to 27°N

Abstract

Water column samples from a transect cruise from southern Chile through the Panama Canal to the Gulf of Mexico were used to determine dissolved methane depth profiles and air-sea methane fluxes. In the Gulf of Mexico, surface concentrations were approximately 40% supersaturated with respect to the atmosphere, whereas near the equator and in the Peru upwelling region, 10-20% supersaturation generally occurred. These saturation ratios translate into an average flux of methane from the sea surface to the atmosphere of 0.38 μmol m-2 d-1. In addition, water column profiles of dissolved methane indicate that subsurface maxima in dissolved methane concentrations are a consistent feature of the open ocean, except near the equator. At the equator, the subsurface peak at the base of the mixed layer may be bowed down by the Equatorial Undercurrent. The highest methane concentration (12 nM) was observed in the Peru upwelling region.