Open AccessA model of the Arctic Ocean carbon cycle
Author(s) -
Manizza M.,
Follows M. J.,
Dutkiewicz S.,
Menemenlis D.,
McClelland J. W.,
Hill C. N.,
Peterson B. J.,
Key R. M.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2011jc006998
Subject(s) - dissolved organic carbon , alkalinity , biogeochemical cycle , carbon cycle , oceanography , environmental science , biogeochemistry , arctic , colored dissolved organic matter , total organic carbon , total inorganic carbon , canada basin , benthic zone , flux (metallurgy) , carbon dioxide , geology , ecosystem , nutrient , environmental chemistry , phytoplankton , chemistry , ecology , biology , organic chemistry
A three dimensional model of Arctic Ocean circulation and mixing, with a horizontal resolution of 18 km, is overlain by a biogeochemical model resolving the physical, chemical and biological transport and transformations of phosphorus, alkalinity, oxygen and carbon, including the air‐sea exchange of dissolved gases and the riverine delivery of dissolved organic carbon. The model qualitatively captures the observed regional and seasonal trends in surface ocean PO 4 , dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, and pCO 2 . Integrated annually, over the basin, the model suggests a net annual uptake of 59 Tg C a −1 , within the range of published estimates based on the extrapolation of local observations (20–199 Tg C a −1 ). This flux is attributable to the cooling (increasing solubility) of waters moving into the basin, mainly from the subpolar North Atlantic. The air‐sea flux is regulated seasonally and regionally by sea‐ice cover, which modulates both air‐sea gas transfer and the photosynthetic production of organic matter, and by the delivery of riverine dissolved organic carbon (RDOC), which drive the regional contrasts in pCO 2 between Eurasian and North American coastal waters. Integrated over the basin, the delivery and remineralization of RDOC reduces the net oceanic CO 2 uptake by ∼10%.