Temporal Variation in Natural Gas Seep Rate and Influence Factors in the Lingtou Promontory Seep Field of the Northern South China Sea
Journal: Terrestrial Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Year: 2014

Natural hydrocarbon seeps in marine environment are important sources of methane and other greenhouse gases into the ocean and the atmosphere. This greenhouse gas seepage influences the global methane budget and global climate change. Hydrocarbon seeps on the shallow seabed produce a near-shore gas bubble zone along the western coast of Hainan Island, in the northern South China Sea. However, few studies on the quantitative value of the methane flux and on temporal variation and influence factor