During RV Poseidon cruise POS469 (May 2014), the distribution of pCO2 in the near field of submarine volcanic gas flares in shallow water depths down to 50 m below sea level was continuously monitored using three different and independent methodologies. In situ nondispersive infrared (NDIR) spectrometry, pH measurements, and onboard membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) were used to determine the fate of rising CO2 bubbles and the dissolved CO2 plume patterns in a 300 × 400-m working area. The In situ sensor carrier platform, a towed video-controlled water sampling rosette, equipped with CTD sensors, guaranteed excellent ground truthing of seafloor characteristics and bubble discharge. Sensor data and near-seafloor observations indicated that the gas bubbles (<9 mm in diameter, >97 vol.% of CO2) dissolved very rapidly within the first 10 m above seafloor. Bottom water masses enriched with pCO2 (up to 1,100 μatm) show low pH values (up to 7.80) and tend to spread rather downslope west than following the measured weak current in SSE-SSW direction. The 3-D evaluation of pCO2 plume is a valuable tool to back-trace the origin of CO2 leakage when compared with local current regimes, water column CTD data, and seafloor bathymetry. Seep sites offshore Panarea can be used for studying CO2 leakage behavior and testing measuring strategies in shallow waters. Moreover, this area is a naturally designed laboratory to improve existing physicochemical and oceanographic transport models for subsea CO2 leakage.

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Recently developed methane sensors, based on infrared (IR) absorption technology, were successfully utilized for subsea methane release measurements. Long-term investigation of methane emissions (fluid flux determination) from natural methane seeps in the Hikurangi Margin offshore New Zealand were performed by using seafloor lander technology. Small centimeter-sized seep areas could be sampled at the seafloor by video-guided lander deployment. In situ sensor measurements of dissolved methane in seawater could be correlated with methane concentrations measured in discrete water samples after lander recovery. High backscatter flares determined by lander-based Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurement indicate bubble release from the seafloor. Highest methane concentrations determined by the IR sensor coincided with periods of high ADCP backscatter signals. The high fluid release cannot be correlated with tidal changes only. However, this correlation is possible with variability in spatial bubble release, sudden outbursts, and tidal changes in more quiescent seepage phases.A recently developed IR sensor (2,000 m depth-rated) with a detection limit for methane of about 1 ppm showed good linearity in the tested concentration range and an acceptable equilibration time of 10 min. The sensor was successfully operated offshore Santa Barbara by a small work-class ROV at a natural methane seep (Farrar Seep). High background methane concentration of 50 nmol L−1 was observed in the coastal water, which increases up to 560 nmol L−1 in dissolved methane plumes south of the seepage area. ROV- and lander-based sensor deployments have proven the applicability of IR sensor technology for the determination of subsea methane release rates and plume distribution. The wide concentration range, low detection limit, and its robust detection unit enable this technology for both subsea leak detection and oceanographic trace gas investigations.

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The second moment method of laser beam propagation allows for the calculation of the beam quality factor for any laser beam, or combination of laser beams. When several laser beams are added, their effective beam quality factor is not simply the sum of the individual beam quality factors, that is, it does not act as a linear operator. In this paper we derive an analytical expression for the beam quality factor of incoherently added laser beams whose centroids are not collinear. We illustrate the versatility of the final result by showing how this may be applied to the problem of the laser beam propagation characteristics of high power diode bar stacks.