The Recommended Dissociation Constants for Carbonic Acid in Seawater

Authors

Kitack Lee, Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies
Frank J. Millero, University of Miami
Robert H. Byrne, University of South FloridaFollow
Richard A. Feely, Ocean Climate Research Division, NOAA/PMEL
Rik Wanninkhof, Ocean Chemistry Division, NOAA/AOML

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2000

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL002345

Abstract

A coherent representation of carbonate dissociation constants and measured inorganic carbon species is essential for a wide range of environmentally important issues such as oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ and carbon cycle depictions in ocean circulation models. Previous studies have shown varying degrees of discordance between calculated and measured CO₂-system parameters. It is unclear if this is due to errors in thermodynamic models or in measurements. In this work, we address this issue using a large field dataset (15,300 water samples) covering all ocean basins. Our field data, obtained using laboratory-calibrated measurement protocols, are most consistent with calculated parameters using the dissociation constants of Mehrbach et al. [1973] as refit by Dickson and Millero [1987]. Thus, these constants are recommended for use in the synthesis of the inorganic carbon data collected during the global CO₂ survey during the 1990s and for characterization of the carbonate system in seawater.

Rights Information

Terms of use for work posted in Scholar Commons.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Geophysical Research Letters, v. 27, issue 2, p. 229-232

Copyright 2000 by the American Geophysical Union.

Scholar Commons Citation

Lee, Kitack; Millero, Frank J.; Byrne, Robert H.; Feely, Richard A.; and Wanninkhof, Rik, "The Recommended Dissociation Constants for Carbonic Acid in Seawater" (2000). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 1721.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/1721