Autonomous Biogeochemical Floats Detect Significant Carbon Dioxide Outgassing in the High-Latitude Southern Ocean

Authors

Alison R. Gray, School of Oceanography University of Washington
Kenneth S. Johnson, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Seth M. Bushinsky, Princeton University
Stephen C. Riser, University of Washington
Joellen L. Russell, University of Arizona
Lynne D. Talley, University of California
Rik Wanninkhof, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami
Nancy L. Williams, Oregon State UniversityFollow
Jorge L. Sarmiento, Princeton University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2018

Keywords

air-sea carbon flux, SOCCOM

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL078013

Abstract

Although the Southern Ocean is thought to account for a significant portion of the contemporary oceanic uptake of carbon dioxide (CO₂), flux estimates in this region are based on sparse observations that are strongly biased toward summer. Here we present new estimates of Southern Ocean air-sea CO₂ fluxes calculated with measurements from biogeochemical profiling floats deployed by the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling project during 2014–2017. Compared to ship-based CO₂ flux estimates, the float-based fluxes find significantly stronger outgassing in the zone around Antarctica where carbon-rich deep waters upwell to the surface ocean. Although interannual variability contributes, this difference principally stems from the lack of autumn and winter ship-based observations in this high-latitude region. These results suggest that our current understanding of the distribution of oceanic CO₂ sources and sinks may need revision and underscore the need for sustained year-round biogeochemical observations in the Southern Ocean.

Rights Information

Terms of use for work posted in Scholar Commons.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

No

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Geophysical Research Letters, v. 45, issue 17, p. 9049-9057

©2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Scholar Commons Citation

Gray, Alison R.; Johnson, Kenneth S.; Bushinsky, Seth M.; Riser, Stephen C.; Russell, Joellen L.; Talley, Lynne D.; Wanninkhof, Rik; Williams, Nancy L.; and Sarmiento, Jorge L., "Autonomous Biogeochemical Floats Detect Significant Carbon Dioxide Outgassing in the High-Latitude Southern Ocean" (2018). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 1353.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/1353