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Upper water column methane geochemistry in the eastern tropical North Pacific 1
Author(s) -
Burke Roger A.,
Reid David F.,
Brooks James M.,
Lavoie Dennis M.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1983.28.1.0019
Subject(s) - water column , pycnocline , methane , hydrography , oceanography , zooplankton , environmental science , particulates , atmospheric sciences , geology , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental chemistry , chemistry , ecology , biology , geotechnical engineering
Upper water column (<400 m) profiles of methane, suspended matter, biological indicators, and hydrographic parameters were obtained from nine stations in the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean. Methane was consistently supersaturated with respect to atmospheric equilibrium and displayed a subsurface maximum containing about 2–3 times near‐surface concentrations associated with the upper part of the pycnocline. Correlations between methane and the particulate and biological parameters at all nine stations taken together were low, although several stations individually exhibited significant correspondences. The methane distribution was largely controlled by physical oceanographic processes. Microbial activity associated with suspended particles, possibly recycled by repetitive zooplankton grazing, is believed most likely responsible for the excess methane.