International Arctic Research Centre, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99709, USA.
Science. 2010 Mar 5;327(5970):1246-50. doi: 10.1126/science.1182221.
Remobilization to the atmosphere of only a small fraction of the methane held in East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) sediments could trigger abrupt climate warming, yet it is believed that sub-sea permafrost acts as a lid to keep this shallow methane reservoir in place. Here, we show that more than 5000 at-sea observations of dissolved methane demonstrates that greater than 80% of ESAS bottom waters and greater than 50% of surface waters are supersaturated with methane regarding to the atmosphere. The current atmospheric venting flux, which is composed of a diffusive component and a gradual ebullition component, is on par with previous estimates of methane venting from the entire World Ocean. Leakage of methane through shallow ESAS waters needs to be considered in interactions between the biogeosphere and a warming Arctic climate.
只有一小部分储存在东西伯利亚北极架（ESAS）沉积物中的甲烷被重新释放到大气中，就可能引发突然的气候变暖，但人们认为海底永冻层起到了盖子的作用，使这个浅层甲烷库保持原位。在这里，我们展示了超过 5000 次海上溶解甲烷的观测结果，表明 ESAS 底层水的 80%以上和约 50%的表层水的甲烷含量相对于大气处于过饱和状态。目前的大气排放通量由扩散成分和逐渐的沸腾成分组成，与之前对整个世界海洋甲烷排放的估计相当。通过浅层 ESAS 水域的甲烷泄漏需要在生物界和变暖的北极气候之间的相互作用中加以考虑。
