Dissolved Methane Sensor

Lead PI: Anna Michel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Start Year: 2018 | Duration: 3 years
Partners: RingIR Inc, National Science Foundation, National Academy of Sciences, NOAA

Quantifying and tracking global dynamics of methane (CH4) is critical for understanding and modeling Earth’s climate. Methane itself has 20times the wanning potential of carbon dioxide (C02), and after ~10 years in the atmosphere is oxidized to co2, which remains for centuries. One of the most poorly understood pathways for methane to reach the atmosphere is from oceanic sources including both water column production and seafloor emissions such as hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, and hydrate formations. Little is currently known about how much methane is contained or emitted from many ocean environments and how much of the released methane reaches the atmosphere.