Investigation of the biogeochemistry of methane and mechanisms of its transfer in the Black Sea

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We demonstrate the importance of investigation of the behavior of methane as a source of energy and an element of the Black-Sea ecosystem affecting the global behavior of the climate. We describe the genesis of methane and the processes of its aerobic and anaerobic oxidation. An especially important biogeochemical and ecological role is played by the anaerobic oxidation of methane guaranteeing the formation of its effective sink inside the anaerobic zone and preventing its penetration into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. On the basis of the analysis of the experimental data available from the literature, we also discuss the principal regularities of the distribution of concentration of methane and its flows. It is shown that the formation of methane hydrates at the bottom in the abyssal part of the Black Sea and the events of jet gas release on the periphery of the basin can be regarded as the components of a single global process of gas release from the bottom of the Black Sea. We present estimates of the components of methane budget in the Black Sea. The results of simulation of the dynamics of methane bubbles and the processes of their gas exchange with the medium are analyzed. The data of hydroacoustic measurements are used to evaluate the distribution of methane bubbles in sizes and the mass transfer of methane through the ocean-atmosphere interface. Finally, we consider the methods of mathematical simulation of the distribution of methane in the ecosystem of the Black Sea.