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Discovery of a natural CO2seep in the German North Sea: Implications for shallow dissolved gas and seep detection
- Source :
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 116 . C03013., Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 116, No C3 (2011)
- Publication Year :
- 2011
- Publisher :
- American Geophysical Union (AGU), 2011.
-
Abstract
- A natural carbon dioxide (CO 2) seep was discovered during an expedition to the southern German North Sea (October 2008). Elevated CO 2 levels of ∼10–20 times above background were detected in seawater above a natural salt dome ∼30 km north of the East‐Frisian Island Juist. A single elevated value 53 times higher than background was measured, indicating a possible CO 2 point source from the seafloor. Measured pH values of around 6.8 support modeled pH values for the observed high CO 2 concentration. These results are presented in the context of CO 2 seepage detection, in light of proposed subsurface CO 2 sequestering and growing concern of ocean acidification. We explore the boundary conditions of CO 2 bubble and plume seepage and potential flux paths to the atmosphere. Shallow bubble release experiments conducted in a lake combined with discrete‐bubble modeling suggest that shallow CO 2 outgassing will be difficult to detect as bubbles dissolve very rapidly (within meters). Bubble‐plume modeling further shows that a CO 2 plume will lose buoyancy quickly because of rapid bubble dissolution while the newly CO 2 ‐enriched water tends to sink toward the seabed. Results suggest that released CO 2 will tend to stay near the bottom in shallow systems (
- Subjects :
- Atmospheric Science
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Soil Science
010501 environmental sciences
Aquatic Science
Oceanography
01 natural sciences
Sink (geography)
Water column
Geochemistry and Petrology
Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
14. Life underwater
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
Water Science and Technology
Salt dome
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
Ecology
Paleontology
Forestry
Ocean acidification
Seafloor spreading
Plume
Petroleum seep
Geophysics
13. Climate action
Space and Planetary Science
Seawater
Geology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 01480227
- Volume :
- 116
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Geophysical Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f8c7b9745fddab90a4914ae64e1faeaf