Abstract
Upper water column (<400 m) profiles of methane, suspended matter, biological indicators, and hydrographic parameters were obtained from nine stations in the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean. Methane was consistently supersaturated with respect to atmospheric equilibrium and displayed a subsurface maximum containing about 2–3 times near‐surface concentrations associated with the upper part of the pycnocline. Correlations between methane and the particulate and biological parameters at all nine stations taken together were low, although several stations individually exhibited significant correspondences. The methane distribution was largely controlled by physical oceanographic processes. Microbial activity associated with suspended particles, possibly recycled by repetitive zooplankton grazing, is believed most likely responsible for the excess methane.
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