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Sea Ice Suppression of CO 2 Outgassing in the West Antarctic Peninsula: Implications For The Evolving Southern Ocean Carbon Sink
Author(s) -
Shadwick E. H.,
De Meo O. A.,
Schroeter S.,
Arroyo M. C.,
Martinson D. G.,
Ducklow H.
Publication year - 2021
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 - 10.1029/2020gl091835
Subject(s) - sink (geography) , outgassing , oceanography , peninsula , carbon sink , sea ice , environmental science , climatology , geology , atmospheric sciences , geography , climate change , chemistry , cartography , organic chemistry , archaeology
The Southern Ocean plays an important role in the uptake of atmospheric CO 2 . In seasonally ice‐covered regions, estimates of air‐sea exchange remain uncertain in part because of a lack of observations outside the summer season. Here we present new estimates of air‐sea CO 2 flux in the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) from an autonomous mooring on the continental shelf. In summer, the WAP is a sink for atmospheric CO 2 followed by a slow return to atmospheric equilibrium in autumn and winter. Outgassing is almost entirely suppressed by ice cover from June through October, resulting in a modest net annual CO 2 sink. Model projections indicate sea ice formation will occur later in the season in the coming decades potentially weakening the net oceanic CO 2 sink. Interannual variability in the WAP is significant, highlighting the importance of sustained observations of air‐sea exchange in this rapidly changing region of the Southern Ocean.