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A decrease in the sink for atmospheric CO 2 in the North Atlantic
Author(s) -
Lefèvre Nathalie,
Watson Andrew J.,
Olsen Are,
Ríos Aida F.,
Pérez Fiz F.,
Johannessen Truls
Publication year - 2004
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 - 10.1029/2003gl018957
Subject(s) - ocean gyre , atmosphere (unit) , sink (geography) , environmental science , carbon dioxide , atmospheric sciences , seawater , oceanography , carbon sink , flux (metallurgy) , climatology , carbon flux , geology , climate change , chemistry , meteorology , geography , subtropics , ecosystem , biology , ecology , cartography , organic chemistry
Global ocean carbon models and available syntheses of the oceanic CO 2 flux suggest that the North Atlantic subpolar gyre (50°N–70°N, 80°W–10°W) is a region of increasing uptake of CO 2 from the atmosphere, with the oceanic partial pressure of CO 2 (pCO 2 ) increasing more slowly than the atmospheric CO 2 over time. Our analysis of available CO 2 data shows that, on the contrary, seawater pCO 2 has increased faster than the atmosphere in recent decades, especially in summer, resulting in a decrease in uptake from the atmosphere. A decrease in the biological productivity of the region may be the underlying cause of this trend. From the observed trend we estimated a significant decrease in the annual carbon uptake in this region.
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