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Ethylene and methane in the upper water column of the subtropical Atlantic

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Abstract

The vertical distributions of ethylene and methane in the upper water column of the subtropical Atlantic were measured along a transect from Madeira to the Caribbean and compared with temperature, salinity, oxygen, nutrients, chlorophyll-a, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC).

Methane concentrations between 41.6 and 60.7 nL L-1 were found in the upper 20 m of the water column giving a calculated average flux of methane into the atmosphere of 0.82 μg m-2 h-1. Methane profiles reveal several distinct maxima in the upper 500 m of the water column and short-time variations which are presumably partly related to the vertical migration of zooplankton.

Ethylene concentrations in near surface waters varied in the range of 1.8 to 8.2 nL L-1. Calculated flux rates for ethylene into the atmosphere were in the range of 0.41 to 1.35 μg m-2 h-1 with a mean of 0.83 μg m-2 h-1. Maximum concentrations of up to 39.2 nL L-1 were detected directly below the pycnocline in the western Atlantic. The vertical distributions of ethylene generally showed one maximum at the pycnocline (about 100 m depth) where elevated concentrations of chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients were also found; no ethylene was detected below 270 m depth. This suggests that ethylene release is mainly related to one, probably phytoplankton associated, source, while for methane, enhanced net production occurs at various depth horizons. For surface waters, a simple correlation between ethylene and chlorophyll-a or DOC concentrations could not be observed. No considerable diurnal variation was observed for the distribution and concentration of ethylene in the upper water column.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut füur Biogeochemie und Meereschemie, Universitäat Hamburg, Bundesstr. 55, D-21046, Hamburg, Germany

    Richard Seifert, Nikolai Delling, Hans Hermann Richnow, Stephan Kempe, Jens Hefter & Walter Michaelis

  2. Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut, Schnittbahnstr. 9, D-64287, Darmstadt

    Stephan Kempe

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  1. Richard Seifert
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  2. Nikolai Delling
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  3. Hans Hermann Richnow
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  4. Stephan Kempe
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  5. Jens Hefter
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  6. Walter Michaelis
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Seifert, R., Delling, N., Richnow, H.H. et al. Ethylene and methane in the upper water column of the subtropical Atlantic. Biogeochemistry 44, 73–91 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006090917059

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