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Large CO 2 disequilibria in tropical lakes
Author(s) -
Marotta Humberto,
Duarte Carlos M.,
Sobek Sebastian,
EnrichPrast Alex
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/2008gb003434
Subject(s) - temperate climate , atmosphere (unit) , latitude , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , flux (metallurgy) , tropics , climatology , geology , ecology , chemistry , geography , biology , meteorology , geodesy , organic chemistry
On the basis of a broad compilation of data on p CO 2 in surface waters, we show tropical lakes to be, on average, far more supersaturated and variable in CO 2 (geometric mean ± SE p CO 2 = 1804 ± 35 μ atm) than temperate lakes (1070 ± 6 μ atm). There was a significant negative relationship between p CO 2 and latitude, resulting in an average decrease of p CO 2 by 2.8 ± 0.5% per degree latitude. In addition, we found a general positive relationship between p CO 2 and water temperature across lakes involving an average increase (±SE) in 6.7 ± 0.8% per °C. A conservative annual efflux from global lakes to the atmosphere was reestimated to 0.44 Gt C. Our results show tropical lakes maintain large CO 2 disequilibria with the atmosphere, playing a disproportionate and variable role in the flux of CO 2 between lakes and the atmosphere, thereby being a significant component of the global C cycle.