Monitoring of methane bubble emission and hydrological parameters in Laspi Bay (Crimea)

Abstract

This work is devoted to studies of the shallow methane seepages temporal variability in the coastal area of Laspi Bay and high-frequency monitoring of the hydrological parameters daily dynamics in this area. The paper presents results obtained during the summer months of 2016, 2018-2021, and early February 2023. Using the passive acoustic method, it is shown that the intensity and periodicity of bubble gas emission by individual point sources can vary during the day and from season to season. It was obtained that a decreased content of dissolved oxygen and its saturation is observed above the active site of the seepages as compared to the distant (background) site. Moments of sharp decrease in oxygen content not accompanied by changes in temperature and other hydrological parameters were noted.