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Air‐sea gas transfer in high Arctic fjords
Author(s) -
Andersson A.,
Falck E.,
Sjöblom A.,
Kljun N.,
Sahlée E.,
Omar A. M.,
Rutgersson A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl072373
Subject(s) - arctic , environmental science , convection , fjord , turbulence , atmospheric sciences , climatology , eddy covariance , oceanography , geology , meteorology , physics , ecology , ecosystem , biology
In Arctic fjords and high‐latitude seas, strong surface cooling dominates during a large part of the year, generating water‐side convection ( w * w ) and enhanced turbulence in the water. These regions are key areas for the global carbon cycle; thus, a correct description of their air‐sea gas exchange is crucial. CO 2 data were measured via the eddy covariance technique in marine Arctic conditions and reveal that water‐side convection has a major impact on the gas transfer velocity. This is observed even at wind speeds as high as 9 m s −1 , where convective motions are generally thought to be suppressed by wind‐driven turbulence. The enhanced air‐sea transfer of CO 2 caused by water‐side convection nearly doubled the CO 2 uptake; after scaled to open‐sea conditions the contribution from w * w to the CO 2 flux remained as high as 34%. This phenomenon is expected to be highly important for the total carbon uptake in marine Arctic areas.