Features Variations of Methane Concentration of the Summer-Autumn Period at Arctic Station Barrow (Alaska) By Terrestrial and Satellite Data

Over the past two and a half centuries total methane content in the Earth’s atmosphere has more than doubled [1]. The global warming potential of methane is 20 times greater than that of carbon dioxide, considering that, monitoring and studying the properties of methane are one of the urgent tasks of modern ecology. This paper presents a study of methane concentration variations on the Arctic coast of Alaska, according to Barrow station data (1986-2018), and remote sensing data (AIRS radiometer, Aqua satellite). Analysis of the seasonal variation of methane showed that in the off-season (summer-autumn) at station Barrow quite often there are sharp jumps (increases) in methane concentration with amplitudes exceeding the background by ~ > 5% and lasting from several / tens of hours to several days. Similar events were mainly observed from June to November. It is logical to assume that this behavior of methane in summer and autumn, when methane content in the atmosphere above the northern seas is on average lower than over land, is due to the dynamics of north and south winds at the observation point (Barrow station). Studies were conducted of the dependence of methane concentration on the direction of wind, that showing significant jumps in methane concentration at the station were recorded with wind blowing from the land. In case of wind from the north, methane values generally corresponded to an unperturbed / background level. Analysis of monthly averaged distribution maps of methane concentration, based on satellite data, showed that in winter, at high latitudes, methane values above the land surface and northern seas do not differ significantly. However, in summer-autumn period, the concentration of methane over land is much higher than over the seas. Additional calculations of the trajectories of air mass movements in study area also confirmed the assumption that rapid increases in methane concentration in the summer-autumn period at station Barrow, located on the Arctic coast, is caused by the transfer from the land side of the air masses with a high methane content.

AIRS, HYSPLIT, methane variations, Arctic, Barrow station, permafrost, remote sensing, wind dinamics, AIRS, HYSPLIT

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