Distribution and Sources of Methane in the Water Layers of the Antarctic Straits: Bransfield Strait and Antarctic Sound

Methane concentrations were measured in the water layers on two transects crossing the central part of Bransfield Strait and along the Antarctic Sound. In the abyssal sea of the Bransfield Strait (1397 m), for the first time, an area with an abnormally high methane concentration (47.5 nmol/L) in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oceanology (Washington. 1965) 2021-11, Vol.61 (6), p.892-898
Main Authors: Polonik, N. S., Ponomareva, A. L., Eskova, A. I., Shakirov, R. B., Obzhirov, A. I., Morozov, E. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abyssal zone
Alliances
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Isobaths
Marine Chemistry
Methane
Oceanography
Seawater
Straits
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Summary:Methane concentrations were measured in the water layers on two transects crossing the central part of Bransfield Strait and along the Antarctic Sound. In the abyssal sea of the Bransfield Strait (1397 m), for the first time, an area with an abnormally high methane concentration (47.5 nmol/L) in the near bottom layer was found. An increased methane concentration (11.3–16.0 nmol/L) in the bottom layer of seawater was also recorded at a distance of 30–35 km from the central part of the methane anomaly. In the bottom layer of the southern part of the Antarctic Sound below the 400 m isobath, a zone with an increased methane concentration (6.7 nmol/L) was discovered for the first time, which exceeds the average methane concentration in the Weddell Sea. The set of studies carried out allows the conclusion that the source of methane found in the Bransfield Strait is endogenic, and the increase in the methane concentration in the Antarctic Sound is caused by the current.
ISSN:0001-4370
1531-8508
DOI:10.1134/S0001437021060308