Seasonal study of methane and nitrous oxide in the coastal waters of the southern Baltic Sea

Atmospheric and dissolved methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) were measur ed in the unique coastal ecosystem of the Bodden waters, including the west ern Oder estuary, (southern Baltic Sea) during five campaigns between 1994 and 1997. The CH4 saturations, ranging from 105-15 500%, showed great spati al and temporal variability with maximum values in September and minimum va lues in December. The N2O saturations were in the range of 91-312% with a m aximum in March. Enhanced concentrations of both gases were observed only i n the western Oder estuary near the mouth of the Peene River. Thus, we conc lude that the distributions of CH4 and N2O in the investigated Bodden water s are, directly or indirectly, linked to the Peene River runoff and not to the Oder River. Our estimate of the annual CH4 emissions from the Bodden wa ters to the atmosphere indicates a significant contribution (c. 17%) to the overall CH4 emissions from the Baltic Sea. In contrast, the Bodden waters represent only a small source for atmospheric N2O. CH4 production rates estimated from sediment slurry experiments revealed a significant spatial variability and indicated that methanogenic activity wa s related to acetate consumption in the surface sediment layer. Sedimentary CH4 production might depend on different amounts of accumulation of organi c material. (C) 1998 Academic Press.