Abstract:
Scientific assessment of the distribution and sea-air fluxes of dissolved methane (CH
4) in the marginal sea is important for understanding the regional contribution of CH
4 emission to the atmosphere. The distribution, influencing factors and sea-air fluxes of CH
4 in the northern of the North Yellow Sea were studied based on a survey in August 2022. The results showed that the dissolved CH
4 concentrations range were from 4.0 nmol/L to 63.3 nmol/L with saturations from 168% to 2 360% in the study area. High CH
4 concentrations were observed in Yalu River estuary, and the dissolved CH
4 concentrations in surface seawater decreased rapidly as the estuary extends to the sea, while the input of diluted water from terrestrial sources such as the Yalu River coupled with the degradation of seawater and sediment organic matter leaded to an increase in CH
4 in inshore area. The oxidative consumption of CH
4 in seawater mixing with the terrestrial diluted water was also an important process that could not be ignored in controlling CH
4 concentration and distribution. The action of North Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass coupled with anaerobic degradation of sediment organic matter resulted in relatively high dissolved CH
4 concentrations in bottom seawater than that in surface seawater in the offshore area. In the study area the sea-air CH
4 fluxes were from 18.4 μmol/(m
2·d) to 578.8 μmol/(m
2·d), being the source of atmospheric CH
4 and it was significantly higher in the inshore area than that of the offshore area. Therefore, the dissolved CH
4 concentrations and sea-air fluxes in this area had significant differences due to the inputs of diluted water, and the variation amplitude was higher than that of other sea area in the world. It is crucial to strengthen the investigation and research in coastal areas such as estuary to accurately assess the CH
4 emissions and emission source composition to formulate effective CH
4 reduction measures.