Premium
Atmospheric CO 2 fluxes in a highly polluted estuary (the Scheldt)
Author(s) -
Frankignoulle Michel,
Bourge Isabelle,
Wollast Roland
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1996.41.2.0365
Subject(s) - estuary , atmosphere (unit) , flux (metallurgy) , environmental science , environmental chemistry , atmospheric sciences , hydrology (agriculture) , chemistry , oceanography , geology , meteorology , geography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
Dissolved CO 2 concentration and exchange with the atmosphere were investigated simultaneously in the Scheldt estuary. CO 2 partial pressures as high as 5,700 µ atm, corresponding to oversaturation with respect to the atmosphere of 1,600%, were observed in the upper estuary. The corresponding atmospheric CO 2 fluxes reached values of up to 1.2 mol m −2 d −1 . The estimated flux for the entire estuary amounts to 600 t of C d −1 for a river discharge of <1×10 6 m 3 d −1 .