Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2021-334
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2021-334
03 Jan 2022
 | 03 Jan 2022
Status: this discussion paper is a preprint. It has been under review for the journal Biogeosciences (BG). The manuscript was not accepted for further review after discussion.

Significant methane undersaturation during austral summer in the Ross Sea (Southern Ocean)

Wangwang Ye, Hermann W. Bange, Damian L. Arévalo-Martínez, Hailun He, Yuhong Li, Jianwen Wen, Jiexia Zhang, Jian Liu, Man Wu, and Liyang Zhan

Abstract. Dissolved methane (CH4) was measured at 9 stations along a transect at 75° S in the Ross Sea during austral summer in January 2020. CH4 undersaturation (mean: 82 ± 20 %) was found in the water column, with a mean air-sea CH4 flux density of −0.58 ± 0.48 μmol m−2 day−1, which suggests that the Ross Sea was a net sink for atmospheric CH4 during the austral summer. Simple box-model calculations revealed that the CH4 depletion should occur in the surface mixed layer because of CH4 oxidation and advection of CH4-poor waters. We propose that freshwater injection caused by sea-ice melting in summer dilutes CH4 concentrations within the surface layer and thus increases its potential for atmospheric CH4 uptake in the Ross Sea. Thus, we argue that both CH4 consumption and sea-ice melting are important drivers of CH4 undersaturation, which implies that the high-latitude area of the Southern Ocean is a sink for atmospheric CH4. We estimated that the Southern Ocean (> 65° S) takes up about 0.02 % of the global CH4 emissions and thus represents a minor sink for atmospheric CH4.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
Wangwang Ye, Hermann W. Bange, Damian L. Arévalo-Martínez, Hailun He, Yuhong Li, Jianwen Wen, Jiexia Zhang, Jian Liu, Man Wu, and Liyang Zhan

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on bg-2021-334', Anonymous Referee #1, 27 Jan 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Wangwang Ye, 24 Mar 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on bg-2021-334', Anonymous Referee #2, 22 Feb 2022
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Wangwang Ye, 24 Mar 2022

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on bg-2021-334', Anonymous Referee #1, 27 Jan 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Wangwang Ye, 24 Mar 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on bg-2021-334', Anonymous Referee #2, 22 Feb 2022
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Wangwang Ye, 24 Mar 2022
Wangwang Ye, Hermann W. Bange, Damian L. Arévalo-Martínez, Hailun He, Yuhong Li, Jianwen Wen, Jiexia Zhang, Jian Liu, Man Wu, and Liyang Zhan
Wangwang Ye, Hermann W. Bange, Damian L. Arévalo-Martínez, Hailun He, Yuhong Li, Jianwen Wen, Jiexia Zhang, Jian Liu, Man Wu, and Liyang Zhan

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Short summary
CH4 is the second important greenhouse gas after CO2. We show that CH4 consumption and sea-ice melting influence the CH4 distribution in the Ross Sea (Southern Ocean), causing undersaturation and net uptake of CH4 during summertime. This study confirms the capability of surface water in the high-latitude Southern Ocean regions to take up atmospheric CH4 which, in turn, will help to improve predictions of how CH4 release/uptake from the ocean will develop when sea-ice retreats in the future.
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