Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2016, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 231-234
Abnormal concentrations of atmospheric methane over the Sea of Okhotsk during 2015/2016 winter
L.N. Yurganov
1 , I. Leifer
2 1 University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, USA
2 Bubbleology Research International, Santa-Barbara, USA
Accepted: 02.06.2016
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2016-13-3-231-234
The latest data on the concentration of methane over the Sea of Okhotsk, obtained using satellite interferometers IASI-1 and IASI-2 have been presented. During the 2015–2016 autumn-winter season atmospheric methane anomalies amounted 70-100 ppb in comparison with previous years. Maximum observed anomaly was observed over the Deriugin trough to the North-East of Sakhalin Island. In the recent decades, the Sea of Okhotsk was found as an area with prospected reserves of methane hydrates; methane emissions to the atmosphere were observed also. The satellite measurements of anomalies are consistent with the locations of proven methane hydrate deposits. Methane anomaly along the North-West coast of the sea is tentatively explained by methane emitted due to degradation of sub-marine permafrost, similarly to that occurring in the Laptev Sea. A significantly higher interannual variability of methane in the autumn-winter season than that in summer is explained by a transition from stable summer stratification of seawater to unstable one. Also intensification of turbulent diffusion in the sea connected with storms plays a role.
Keywords: IASI, Sea of Okhotsk, atmospheric methane, methane hydrates
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