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Magnetic effect on CO 2 solubility in seawater: A possible link between geomagnetic field variations and climate
Author(s) -
Pazur Alexander,
Winklhofer Michael
Publication year - 2008
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 - 10.1029/2008gl034288
Subject(s) - earth's magnetic field , seawater , solubility , magnetic field , atmosphere (unit) , atmospheric sciences , field (mathematics) , geology , geophysics , environmental science , oceanography , chemistry , physics , meteorology , mathematics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics
Correlations between geomagnetic‐field and climate parameters have been suggested repeatedly, but possible links are controversially discussed. Here we test if weak (Earth‐strength) magnetic fields can affect climatically relevant properties of seawater. We found the solubility of air in seawater to be by 15% lower under reduced magnetic‐field (20 μ T) compared to normal field conditions (50 μ T). The magnetic‐field effect on CO 2 solubility is twice as large, from which we surmise that geomagnetic field variations modulate the carbon exchange between atmosphere and ocean. A 1% reduction in magnetic dipole moment may release up to ten times more CO 2 from the surface ocean than is emitted by subaerial volcanism. This figure is dwarfed in front of anthropogenic CO 2 emissions.