Abstract
The methane concentration in the atmosphere andsurface water was surveyed along 58° N acrossthe North Sea. In addition, the vertical methanedistribution in the water column was determined at sixstations along the transect. The methane contents ofthe surface water as well as in the water column wereextremely inhomogeneous. Input by freshwater fromriver discharge and injection of methane from thesediment were both observed. The survey continued fromthe western side of the North Sea to the Elbe Riverestuary. The Elbe River appears to have low methaneconcentrations compared to other European rivers, itsaverage input into the North Sea is estimated to be70 nmol s-1 of methane. Near 58° N,1°40' E, an abandoned drill site releases about 25 % ofthe North Sea's emission of methane to the atmosphere.The advective methane transport induced by watercirculation was assessed for May 16, 1994, using a 3-DNorth Sea circulation model. For the period of thissurvey, the North Sea's source strength foratmospheric methane is estimated using in situwind velocities. In comparison to the advectivetransport by the water circulation, the gas flux tothe atmosphere appears to be the dominant sink ofNorth Sea methane. This flux is estimated to bebetween 1500 · 106 mol a-1 and 3100 ·106mol a-1, depending on the relationbetween wind speed and gas transfer velocity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Backhaus J. O. (1985) A three-dimensional model for the simulation of shelf sea dynamics. Dt. hydrogr. Z. 38, 165–187.
Bange H. W., Bartell U. H., Rapsomanikis S., and Andreae M. O. (1994) Methane in the Baltic and North Seas and a reassessment of the marine emissions of methane. Glob. Biochem. Cycl. 8, 465–480.
Bates T. S., Kimberly K. C., Johnson J. E., and Gammon R. H. (1996) A reevaluation of the open ocean source of methane to the atmosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 101, 6953–6961.
Blunier T., Chappellaz J. A., Schwander J., Barnola J.-M., Desperts T., Stauffer B., and Raynaud D. (1993) Atmospheric methane, record from a Greenland ice Core over the last 1000 years. Geophys. Res. Lett. 20, 2219–2222.
BSH (1994) North Sea Handbook: Eastern Part. Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie, Hamburg.
Bussmann I. (1994) Verteilung und Steuergrößen der Aktivität methan-oxidierender Bakterien in Randmeeren des Nordatlantiks. Berichte aus dem Sonderforschungsbereich 313, Christian-Albrechts Universität, Kiel.
Butler J. H., Jones R. D., Garber J. H. and Gordon L. I. (1987) Seasonal distributions and turnover of reduced trace gases and hydroxylamine in Yaquina Bay, Oregon. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 51, 697–706.
Chappelaz J., Blunier T., Raynaud D., Barnola J. M., Schwander J., and Stauffer B. (1993) Synchronous changes in atmospheric CH4 and Greenland Climate between 40 and 8 kyr bp. Nature 366, 443–445.
Cicerone R. J. and Oremland R. S. (1988) Biogeochemical aspects of atmospheric methane. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycl. 2, 299–327.
Conrad R. and Seiler W. (1988) Methane and hydrogen in seawater (Atlantic Ocean). Deep-Sea Res. 35, 1903–1917.
Dando P. R., Austen M. C., Burke R. A. Jr, Kendall M. A., Kennicutt II M. C., Judd A. G., Moore D. C., O'Hara S. C. M., Schmaljohann R., and Southward A. J. (1991) Ecology of a North Sea pockmark with an active methane seep. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 70, 49–63.
Dando P. R., Jensen P., O'Hara S. C. M., Niven S. J., Schmaljohann R., Schuster U., and Taylor L. J. (1994a) The effects of methane seepage at an intertidal/shallow subtidal site on the shore of the Kattegat, Vendsyssel, Denmark. Bull. Geol. Soc. Den.
Dando P. R., O'Hara S. C.M., Schuster U., Taylor L. J., Clayton C. J., Baylis S., and Laier T. (1994b) Gas-seepage from a carbonate-cemented sandstone reef on the Kattegat coast of Denmark. Mar. Petrol. Geol. 11, 182–189.
de Angelis M. A. and Lilley M. D. (1987) Methane in surface waters of Oregon estuaries and rivers. Limnol. Oceanogr. 32, 716–722.
de Angelis M. A., Lilley, M. D., Olson, E. J., and Baross, J. A. (1993) Methane oxidation in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes of the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Deep-Sea Res I. 40, 1169–1186.
de Wilde H. P. J. and Duyzer J. (1995) Methane emissions off the Dutch coast: Air-sea concentration differences versus atmospheric gradients. In B. Jähne and E. C. Monahan (eds.), Air-Water Gas Transfer, pp. 763–773. AEON-Verlag, Hamburg.
Faber E. and Stahl W. (1984) Geochemical surface exploration for hydrocarbons in the North Sea. Bull. Am. Ass. Petr. Geol. 68, 363–386.
Fox M. A. (1995) Memorandum 22/4b-4 Well Site Hazards. MOBIL North Sea Ltd.
Hainbucher D., Pohlmann T. and Backhaus J. (1987) Transport of conservative tracers in the North Sea: First results of a circulation and transport model. Cont. Shelf Res. 7, 1161–1179.
Hempel P., Spieß V. and Schreiber R. (1994) Expulsion of shallow gas in the Skagerrak-evidence from sub-bottom profiling, seismic, hydroacoustical and geochemical data. Estuarine, Coastal Shelf Res. 38, 583–601.
Hovland M. (1992) Pockmarks and gas-charged sediments in the eastern Skagerrak. Cont. Shelf Res. 12, 1111–1119.
Hovland M., Judd A. G., and Burke R. A. J. (1993) The global flux of methane from shallow submarine sediments. Chemosphere 26, 559–578.
Hovland M. and Judd A. J. (1988) Seabed Pockmarks and Seepages. Graham and Trotman Limited, London.
Hovland M., Talbot M. R. Qvale H., Olausen S., and Aasberg L. (1987) Methane-related carbonate cements in pockmarks of the North Sea. J. Sed. Petr. 57, 881–892.
Hovland M. and Thomsen E. (1989) Hydrocarbon-based communities in the North Sea? Sarsia 74, 29–42.
ICES (1983) lushing times of the North Sea. ICES Cooperative Research Report 123.
Jensen P., Aagaard I., Burke Jr. R. A., Dando P. R., Jørgensen N. O., Kuipers A., Laier T., O'Hara S. C. M., and Schmaljohann R. (1992) ‘Bubbling Reefs’ in the Kattegat: submarine landscapes of carbonate-cemented rocks support a diverse ecosystem at methane seeps. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 83, 103–112.
Jørgensen N. O. (1992) Methane-derived carbonate cementation of holocene marine sediments from Kattegat, Denmark. Cont. Shelf Res. 12, 1209–1218.
Judd A. G. and Hovland M. (1992) The evidence of shallow gas in marine sediments. Cont. Shelf. Res. 12, 1081–1095.
Kautsky H. (1973) The distribution of the radio nuclide Caesium 137 as an indicator for North Sea watermass transport. Dt. hydrogr. Z. 26, 241–246.
Kautsky H. (1985) Distribution and content of different artificial radio nuclides in the water of the North Sea during the years 1977 to 1981 (complemented with some results from 1982 to 1984). Dt. hydrogr. Z. 38, 193–224.
Körtzinger A., Thomas, H., Schneider, B., Gronau, N., Mintrop, L., and Duinker, J. C. (1996) At sea - intercomparison of two newly designed underway pCO2-systems-encouraging results. Mar. Chem. 52, 133–145.
Laier T., Jørgensen N. O., Buchardt B., Cederberg T., and Kuipers A. (1992) Accumulation and seepages of biogenic gas in northern Denmark. Cont. Shelf Res. 12, 1173–1186.
Lammers S. and Suess E. (1994) An improved head-space analysis method for methane in seawater. Mar. Chem. 47, 115–125.
Lamontagne R. A., Swinnerton J. W., Linnenbom V. J., and Smith W. D. (1973) Methane concentrations in various marine environments. J. Geophys. Res. 78, 5317–5324.
Lashof D. A. and Ahuja D. R. (1990) Relative contributions of greenhouse gas emissions to global warming. Nature 344, 529–531.
Lelieveld J., Crutzen P. J., and Brühl C. (1993) Climate effects of atmospheric methane. Chemosphere 26, 739–768.
Lenhart H.-J., Radach G., Backhaus J., and Pohlmann T. (1995) Simulations of the North Sea circulation, its variability and its implementation as hydrodynamic forcing in ERSEM. Neth. J. of North Sea Res. 33, 271–299.
Liss P. S. and Merlivat L. (1986) Air-sea gas exchange rates: Introduction and synthesis. In P. Buat-Ménard (ed.), The Role of Air-Sea Exchange in Geochemical Cycling, pp. 113–127. D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht.
Luthardt H. (1987) Analyse der wassernahen Druck-und Windfelder über der Nordsee aus Routinebeobachtungen. Hamburger Geophysikalische Einzelschriften A 83, 1–115.
Moll A. (1998) Regional distribution of primary production in the North Sea simulated by a three-dimensional model. J. Mar. Sys., in press
OPL (1995) North Sea and N62° Atlas. Oilfield Publications Limited, Herefordshire.
Otto L., Zimmermann J. T. F., Furnes G. K., Mork M., Saertre R., and Becker G. (1990) Review of the physical oceanography of the North Sea. Neth. J. of Sea Res. 26, 161–238.
Pingree R. D. (1978) Tidal fronts on the shelf seas around the British Isles. J. Geophys. Res. 83, 4615–4622.
Pohlmann T. (1996) Predicting the thermocline in a circulation model of the North Sea-Part I: model description, calibration and verification. Cont. Shelf Res. 16, 131–146.
Pohlmann T. and Puls W. (1994) Currents and transport in water. In J. Sündermann (ed.), Circulation and Contaminant Fluxes in the North Sea, pp. 345–402. Springer Verlag, Berlin.
Rehder G. (1996) Quellen und Senken marinen Methans zwischen Schelf und offenem Ozean, Thesis, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel.
Schirmer F., Essen H. H., Gurgel K. W., Schlick T., and Hessner K. (1994) Local variability of surface measurements based on HF-radar measurements. In J. Sündermann (ed.), Circulation and Contaminant Fluxes in the North Sea, pp. 271–289. Springer Verlag, Berlin.
Schmaljohann R., Faber E., Whiticar M. J., and Dando P. R. (1990) Co-existence of methane-and sulphur-based endosymbioses between bacteria and invertebrates at a site in the Skagerrak. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 61, 119–124.
Scranton M. I. and Brewer P. G. (1978) Consumption of dissolved methane in the deep ocean. Limnol. Oceanogr. 23, 1207–1213.
Scranton M. I. and McShane K. (1991) Methane fluxes in the southern North Sea: the role of European rivers. Cont. Shelf. Res. 11, 37–52.
Suess E., Kremling K., and Mienert J. (1994) Nordatlantik 1993, Cruise No. 26, 24 August-26. November 1993. METEOR-Berichte, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg.
Sündermann J. (1994) Circulation and Contaminant Fluxes in the North Sea. Springer Verlag, Berlin.
Sweeney R.E. (1988) Petroleum-related hydrocarbon seepage in a recent North Sea sediment. Chem. Geol. 71, 53–64.
Wanninkhof R. (1992) Relationship between wind speed and gas exchange over the ocean. J. Geophys. Res. 97, 7373–7382.
Ward B. B., Kilpatrick K. A., Novelli P. C., and Scranton M. I. (1987) Methane oxidation and methane fluxes in the ocean surface layer and deep anoxic waters. Nature 327, 226–229.
Webster, A. and Drew, S. (1995) MOBIL North Sea Limited - 1995 Wellsite 22/4B-4 Inspection Report., MOBIL North Sea Ltd.
Welhan J. A. and Craig H. (1983) Methane, hydrogen and helium in hydrothermal fluids at 21°N on the East Pacific Rise. In P. A. Rona et al. (eds.), Hydrothermal Processes at Seafloor Spreading Centers, pp. 391–409. Plenum Press, New York.
Wernecke G., Flöser G., Korn S., Weitkamp C., and Michaelis W. (1994) First measurements of the methane concentration in the North Sea with a new in-situ device. Bull. Geol. Soc. Denmark 41, 5–11.
Wessel P. (1995) New version of the generic mapping tools (GMT) released. Eos Trans. AGU 76, 329.
Wessel P. and Smith H. F. (1991) Free software helps map and display data. Eos Trans. AGU 72.
Wiesenburg D. A. and Guinasso N. L. J. (1979) Equilibrium solubilities of methane, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen in water and seawater. J. Chem. Engin. Data 24, 356–360.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rehder, G., Keir, R.S., Suess, E. et al. The Multiple Sources and Patterns of Methane inNorth Sea Waters. Aquatic Geochemistry 4, 403–427 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009644600833
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009644600833