1. Air-sea flux of CO2 in arctic coastal waters influenced by glacial melt water and sea ice.
- Author
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SEJR, M.K., KRAUSE-JENSEN, D., RYSGAARD, S., SøRENSEN, L.L., CHRISTENSEN, P.B., and GLUD, R.N.
- Subjects
OCEAN-atmosphere interaction ,CARBON dioxide ,GLACIAL climates ,MELTWATER ,SEA ice ,CARBONATE minerals - Abstract
ABSTRACT Annual air-sea exchange of CO
2 in Young Sound, NE Greenland was estimated using pCO2 surface-water measurements during summer (2006-2009) and during an ice-covered winter 2008. All surface pCO2 values were below atmospheric levels indicating an uptake of atmospheric CO2 . During sea ice formation, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) content is reduced causing sea ice to be under saturated in CO2 . Approximately 1% of the DIC forced out of growing sea ice was released into the atmosphere while the remaining 99% was exported to the underlying water column. Sea ice covered the fjord 9 months a year and thereby efficiently blocked air-sea CO2 exchange. During sea ice melt, dissolution of CaCO3 combined with primary production and strong stratification of the water column acted to lower surface-water pCO2 levels in the fjord. Also, a large input of glacial melt water containing geochemically reactive carbonate minerals may contribute to the low surface-water pCO2 levels. The average annual uptake of atmospheric CO2 was estimated at 2.7 mol CO2 m−2 yr−1 or 32 g C m−2 yr−1 for the study area, which is lower than estimates from the Greenland Sea. Variability in duration of sea ice cover caused significant year-to-year variation in annual gas exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2011
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