Elevated nutrients and surface chlorophyll-? associated with natural methane seeps in the Haima cold seep area of the Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea

Cold seeps are a significant source of methane to the ocean. However, nutrients and Chl-alpha in the euphotic layer overlying cold seeps have been poorly studied. Variations in Chl-alpha, nutrients, environmental parameters, and CH4 concentrations in the Haima cold seeps were analyzed. Results show that the overlying water exhibits a typical low nutrient and low Chl-alpha marine environment. Phosphate and Chl-alpha were significantly elevated, and the average SCM in cold seeps was much higher than that in control stations. Spearman correlation analysis indicated Chl-alpha in cold seep was positively correlated with salinity and negatively with nutrient and CH4 concentrations. It implied that the CH4 concentrations may promote the increase of Chl-alpha, and may be linked to CH4 plumes, bringing cold, nutrient-rich waters to the thermocline. However, due to the CH4 plumes hardly to track, more sampling is needed to determine the effects on Chl-alpha and phytoplankton in the euphotic layer.

Automated summary

Cold seeps are an important source of methane in the ocean. This study analyzed the variations in Chl-alpha, nutrients, environmental parameters, and CH4 concentrations in the overlying water of Haima cold seeps. The results showed that the overlying water had low nutrient and low Chl-alpha levels, but phosphate and Chl-alpha were significantly elevated in the cold seeps compared to control stations. Spearman correlation analysis indicated that Chl-alpha in cold seep was positively correlated with salinity and negatively correlated with nutrient and CH4 concentrations.