Considerable methane fluxes to the atmosphere from hydrocarbon seeps in the Gulf of Mexico

Nature Geoscience. doi:10.1038/ngeo574

Authors: Evan A. Solomon, Miriam Kastner, Ian R. MacDonald & Ira Leifer

The fluxes of the greenhouse gas methane from many individual sources to the atmosphere are not well constrained. Marine geological sources may be significant, but they are poorly quantified and are not included in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change budget. Previous results based on traditional indirect sampling techniques and modelling suggested bubble plumes emitted from marine seeps at depths greater than 200 m do not reach the surface mixed layer because of bubble dissolution and methane oxidation. Here we report methane concentration and isotope-depth profiles from direct submersible sampling of deepwater (550–600 m) hydrocarbon plumes in the Gulf of Mexico. We show that bubble size, upwelling flows and the presence of surfactants inhibit bubble dissolution, and that methane oxidation is negligible. Consequently, methane concentrations in surface waters are up to 1,000 times saturation with respect to atmospheric equilibrium. We estimate that diffusive atmospheric methane fluxes from individual plumes are one to three orders of magnitude greater than estimates from shallow-water seeps, greatly expanding the depth range from which methane seep emissions should be considered significant. Given the widespread occurrence of deepwater seeps, we suggest that current estimates of the global oceanic methane flux to the atmosphere may be too low.