Abstract. Based upon eight field surveys conducted between May 2011 and May 2012, we investigated seasonal variations in pH, carbonate saturation state of aragonite (Ωarag), and ancillary data on the Chinese side of the North Yellow Sea, a western North Pacific continental margin of major economic importance. Subsurface waters were CO2-undersaturated in May and nearly in equilibrium with atmospheric CO2 in June. From July to October, the fugacity of CO2 (fCO2) of bottom water gradually increased from 438 ± 44 μatm to 630 ± 84 μatm, and pHT decreased from 8.02 ± 0.04 to 7.88 ± 0.06 due to local aerobic remineralization of primary-production-induced biogenic particles. The subsurface community respiration rates in summer and autumn were estimated to be from 0.80 to 1.08 μmol-O2 kg−1 d−1 within a relatively high salinity range of 31.63 to 32.25. From November to May in the next year, however, subsurface fCO2 gradually decreased and pH increased due to cooling and water column ventilation. The corresponding bottom water Ωarag was 1.85 ± 0.21 (May), 1.79 ± 0.24 (June), 1.75 ± 0.27 (July), 1.76 ± 0.29 (August), 1.45 ± 0.31 (October), 1.52 ± 0.25 (November), and 1.41 ± 0.12 (January). Extremely low Ωarag values (from 1.13 to 1.40) were observed mainly in subsurface waters within the high salinity range of 31.63 to 32.25, which covered a major fraction of the study area in October and November. Of the China seas, the North Yellow Sea represents one of the systems most vulnerable to the potential negative effects of ocean acidification.

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a b s t r a c tThe distributions of dissolved methane in the central Bohai Sea were investigated in November 2011, May 2012, July 2012, and August 2012. Methane concentration in surface seawater, determined using an underway measurement system combined with wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy, showed marked spatiotemporal variations with saturation ratio from 107% to 1193%. The central Bohai Sea was thus a source of atmospheric methane during the survey periods. Several episodic oil and gas spill events increased surface methane concentration by up to 4.7 times and raised the local methane outgassing rate by up to 14.6 times. This study demonstrated a method to detect seafloor CH 4 leakages at the sea surface, which may have applicability in many shallow sea areas with oil and gas exploration activities around the world.

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