Changes in the Arctic Ocean Carbon Cycle With Diminishing Ice Cover

Michael DeGrandpre; Wiley Evans; Mary Louise Timmermans; Richard Krishfield; Bill Williams; Michael Steele

doi:10.1029/2020GL088051

Changes in the Arctic Ocean Carbon Cycle With Diminishing Ice Cover

Michael DeGrandpre, Wiley Evans, Mary Louise Timmermans, Richard Krishfield, Bill Williams, Michael Steele

Chemistry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

Less than three decades ago only a small fraction of the Arctic Ocean (AO) was ice free and then only for short periods. The ice cover kept sea surface pCO₂ at levels lower relative to other ocean basins that have been exposed year round to ever increasing atmospheric levels. In this study, we evaluate sea surface pCO₂ measurements collected over a 6-year period along a fixed cruise track in the Canada Basin. The measurements show that mean pCO₂ levels are significantly higher during low ice years. The pCO₂ increase is likely driven by ocean surface heating and uptake of atmospheric CO₂ with large interannual variability in the contributions of these processes. These findings suggest that increased ice-free periods will further increase sea surface pCO₂, reducing the Canada Basin's current role as a net sink of atmospheric CO₂.

Original language	English
Article number	e2020GL088051
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	47
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL088051
State	Published - Jun 28 2020

Keywords

Arctic Ocean
Canada Basin
ice concentration
interannual variability
seawater CO
shipboard CO measurements

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10.1029/2020GL088051

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title = "Changes in the Arctic Ocean Carbon Cycle With Diminishing Ice Cover",

abstract = "Less than three decades ago only a small fraction of the Arctic Ocean (AO) was ice free and then only for short periods. The ice cover kept sea surface pCO2 at levels lower relative to other ocean basins that have been exposed year round to ever increasing atmospheric levels. In this study, we evaluate sea surface pCO2 measurements collected over a 6-year period along a fixed cruise track in the Canada Basin. The measurements show that mean pCO2 levels are significantly higher during low ice years. The pCO2 increase is likely driven by ocean surface heating and uptake of atmospheric CO2 with large interannual variability in the contributions of these processes. These findings suggest that increased ice-free periods will further increase sea surface pCO2, reducing the Canada Basin's current role as a net sink of atmospheric CO2.",

keywords = "Arctic Ocean, Canada Basin, ice concentration, interannual variability, seawater CO, shipboard CO measurements",

author = "Michael DeGrandpre and Wiley Evans and Timmermans, {Mary Louise} and Richard Krishfield and Bill Williams and Michael Steele",

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AU - DeGrandpre, Michael

AU - Evans, Wiley

AU - Timmermans, Mary Louise

AU - Krishfield, Richard

AU - Williams, Bill

AU - Steele, Michael

PY - 2020/6/28

Y1 - 2020/6/28

N2 - Less than three decades ago only a small fraction of the Arctic Ocean (AO) was ice free and then only for short periods. The ice cover kept sea surface pCO2 at levels lower relative to other ocean basins that have been exposed year round to ever increasing atmospheric levels. In this study, we evaluate sea surface pCO2 measurements collected over a 6-year period along a fixed cruise track in the Canada Basin. The measurements show that mean pCO2 levels are significantly higher during low ice years. The pCO2 increase is likely driven by ocean surface heating and uptake of atmospheric CO2 with large interannual variability in the contributions of these processes. These findings suggest that increased ice-free periods will further increase sea surface pCO2, reducing the Canada Basin's current role as a net sink of atmospheric CO2.

AB - Less than three decades ago only a small fraction of the Arctic Ocean (AO) was ice free and then only for short periods. The ice cover kept sea surface pCO2 at levels lower relative to other ocean basins that have been exposed year round to ever increasing atmospheric levels. In this study, we evaluate sea surface pCO2 measurements collected over a 6-year period along a fixed cruise track in the Canada Basin. The measurements show that mean pCO2 levels are significantly higher during low ice years. The pCO2 increase is likely driven by ocean surface heating and uptake of atmospheric CO2 with large interannual variability in the contributions of these processes. These findings suggest that increased ice-free periods will further increase sea surface pCO2, reducing the Canada Basin's current role as a net sink of atmospheric CO2.

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KW - Canada Basin

KW - ice concentration

KW - interannual variability

KW - seawater CO

KW - shipboard CO measurements

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Changes in the Arctic Ocean Carbon Cycle With Diminishing Ice Cover

Abstract

Keywords

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