Decrease in the CO2 uptake capacity in an ice-free Arctic Ocean basin.
It has been predicted that the Arctic Ocean will sequester much greater amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere as a result of sea ice melt and increasing primary productivity. However, this prediction was made on the basis of observations from either highly productive ocean margins or ice-covered basins before the recent major ice retreat. We report here a high-resolution survey of sea-surface CO2 concentration across the Canada Basin, showing a great increase relative to earlier observations. Rapid CO2 invasion from the atmosphere and low biological CO2 drawdown are the main causes for the higher CO2, which also acts as a barrier to further CO2 invasion. Contrary to the current view, we predict that the Arctic Ocean basin will not become a large atmospheric CO2 sink under ice-free conditions.
Cai
Wei-Jun
WJ
Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. wcai@uga.edu
Chen
Liqi
L
Chen
Baoshan
B
Gao
Zhongyong
Z
Lee
Sang H
SH
Chen
Jianfang
J
Pierrot
Denis
D
Sullivan
Kevin
K
Wang
Yongchen
Y
Hu
Xinping
X
Huang
Wei-Jen
WJ
Zhang
Yuanhui
Y
Xu
Suqing
S
Murata
Akihiko
A
Grebmeier
Jacqueline M
JM
Jones
E Peter
EP
Zhang
Haisheng
H
D001110:Arctic Regions; D001272:Atmosphere; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D057231:Climate Change; D017753:Ecosystem; D046448:Ice Cover; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000378:metabolism; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature
D002245:Carbon Dioxide