the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Satellite ice extent, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric methane trends in the Barents and Kara Seas
Abstract. Over a decade (2003–2015) of satellite data of sea-ice extent, sea surface temperature (SST), and methane (CH4) concentrations in lower troposphere over 10 focus areas within the Barents and Kara Seas (BKS) were analyzed for anomalies and trends relative to the Barents Sea. Large positive CH4 anomalies were discovered around Franz Josef Land (FJL) and offshore west Novaya Zemlya in early fall. Far smaller CH4 enhancement was found around Svalbard, downstream and north of known seabed seepage. SST increased in all focus areas at rates from 0.0018 to 0.15 °C yr−1, CH4 growth spanned 3.06 to 3.49 ppb yr−1.
The strongest SST increase was observed each year in the southeast Barents Sea in June due to strengthening of the warm Murman Current (MC), and in the south Kara Sea in September. The southeast Barents Sea, the south Kara Sea and coastal areas around FJL exhibited the strongest CH4 growth over the observation period. Likely sources are CH4 seepage from subsea permafrost and hydrate thawing and the petroleum reservoirs underlying the central and east Barents Sea and the Kara Sea. The spatial pattern was poorly related to seabed depth. However, the increase in CH4 emissions over time may be explained by a process of shoaling of strengthening warm ocean currents that would also advect the CH4 to areas where seasonal deepening of the surface ocean mixed layer depth leads to ventilation of these water masses. Continued strengthening of the MC will further increase heat transfer to the BKS, with the Barents Sea ice-free in ~ 15 years. We thus expect marine CH4 flux to the atmosphere from this region to continue increasing.
- Preprint
(2465 KB) - Metadata XML
-
Supplement
(2830 KB) - BibTeX
- EndNote
-
RC1: 'Review of tc-2018-237', Anonymous Referee #1, 17 Dec 2018
- AC2: 'Response to reviewer 1', Ira Leifer, 19 Feb 2019
-
SC1: 'Comment on "Satellite ice extent, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric methane trends in the Barents and Kara Seas", Leifer et al.', Lori Bruhwiler, 21 Dec 2018
- AC1: 'Response to helpful comments', Ira Leifer, 28 Dec 2018
- SC2: 'Evidence of a large methane source not supported by the data and contrary to established literature', Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, 07 Jan 2019
-
EC1: 'Editor Guidence', Jennifer Hutchings, 16 Jan 2019
- AC4: 'Response to Editor Comments', Ira Leifer, 05 Mar 2019
- SC3: 'Review of "Satellite ice extent, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric methane trends in the Barents and Kara Seas" by Leifer et al.', Antonia Gambacorta, 16 Jan 2019
- AC3: 'Response to Dr. Antonia Gambacorta', Ira Leifer, 05 Mar 2019
- AC5: 'Response to comments by Bruhwiler and Parmentier', Ira Leifer, 05 Mar 2019
-
RC1: 'Review of tc-2018-237', Anonymous Referee #1, 17 Dec 2018
- AC2: 'Response to reviewer 1', Ira Leifer, 19 Feb 2019
-
SC1: 'Comment on "Satellite ice extent, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric methane trends in the Barents and Kara Seas", Leifer et al.', Lori Bruhwiler, 21 Dec 2018
- AC1: 'Response to helpful comments', Ira Leifer, 28 Dec 2018
- SC2: 'Evidence of a large methane source not supported by the data and contrary to established literature', Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, 07 Jan 2019
-
EC1: 'Editor Guidence', Jennifer Hutchings, 16 Jan 2019
- AC4: 'Response to Editor Comments', Ira Leifer, 05 Mar 2019
- SC3: 'Review of "Satellite ice extent, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric methane trends in the Barents and Kara Seas" by Leifer et al.', Antonia Gambacorta, 16 Jan 2019
- AC3: 'Response to Dr. Antonia Gambacorta', Ira Leifer, 05 Mar 2019
- AC5: 'Response to comments by Bruhwiler and Parmentier', Ira Leifer, 05 Mar 2019
Viewed
HTML | XML | Total | Supplement | BibTeX | EndNote | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1,330 | 545 | 103 | 1,978 | 243 | 93 | 103 |
- HTML: 1,330
- PDF: 545
- XML: 103
- Total: 1,978
- Supplement: 243
- BibTeX: 93
- EndNote: 103
Viewed (geographical distribution)
Country | # | Views | % |
---|
Total: | 0 |
HTML: | 0 |
PDF: | 0 |
XML: | 0 |
- 1