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The sea surface CO2 fugacity and its relationship with environmental parameters in the subpolar North Atlantic 2005
1Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
2Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
3Marine Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden
Abstract. We present the first year-long subpolar transatlantic set of surface seawater CO2 fugacity (fCO2sw) data. The data were obtained aboard the MV Nuka Arctica in 2005 and provide a quasi-continuous picture of the fCO2sw variability between Denmark and Greenland. Complementary real-time high resolution data of surface chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations and mixed layer depth (MLD) estimates have been collocated with the fCO2sw data. Off the shelves the fCO2sw goes through a pronounced seasonal cycle. Surface waters are saturated to slightly supersaturated over a wide range of temperatures in winter. Through spring and summer fCO2sw decreases by approximately 60 μatm due to biological carbon consumption which is not fully counteracted by the fCO2sw increase due to summer warming. The changes are synchronous with changes in chl a concentrations and MLD, and fCO2sw is correlated to both of these through exponential decay and growth curves, respectively. In particular, MLD appears to be able to predict open ocean subpolar fCO2sw to within 12 μatm using a single equation for the whole year. The predictive capability of chl a is around 20% less, with root mean square values of 14.5 μatm. As fCO2sw extrapolation parameters, both MLD and chl a outperform sea surface temperatures in the open subpolar North Atlantic. However, the situation on the shelves is much more heterogeneous and the fCO2sw–parameter relationships are not as strong as they are off the shelves.
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Citation: Olsen, A., Brown, K. R., Chierici, M., Johannessen, T., and Neill, C.: The sea surface CO2 fugacity and its relationship with environmental parameters in the subpolar North Atlantic 2005, Biogeosciences Discuss., 4, 1737-1777, 2007. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager
