Strong Southern Ocean carbon uptake evident in airborne observations.
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| Title: | Strong Southern Ocean carbon uptake evident in airborne observations. |
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| Authors: | Long, Matthew C., Stephens, Britton B., McKain, Kathryn, Sweeney, Colm, Keeling, Ralph F., Kort, Eric A., Morgan, Eric J., Bent, Jonathan D., Chandra, Naveen, Chevallier, Frederic, Commane, Róisín, Daube, Bruce C., Krummel, Paul B., Loh, Zoë, Luijkx, Ingrid T., Munro, David, Patra, Prabir, Peters, Wouter, Ramonet, Michel, Rödenbeck, Christian |
| Source: | Science (pre-March 2025). 12/3/2021, Vol. 374 Issue 6572, p1275-1280. 6p. 4 Color Photographs. |
| Subjects: | Carbon dioxide, Flux (Energy), Atmospheric transport, Partial pressure |
| Geographic Terms: | Antarctic Ocean |
| Abstract: | The Southern Ocean plays an important role in determining atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), yet estimates of air-sea CO2 flux for the region diverge widely. In this study, we constrained Southern Ocean air-sea CO2 exchange by relating fluxes to horizontal and vertical CO2 gradients in atmospheric transport models and applying atmospheric observations of these gradients to estimate fluxes. Aircraft-based measurements of the vertical atmospheric CO2 gradient provide robust flux constraints. We found an annual mean flux of –0.53 ± 0.23 petagrams of carbon per year (net uptake) south of 45°S during the period 2009–2018. This is consistent with the mean of atmospheric inversion estimates and surface-ocean partial pressure of CO2 (PCO2)–based products, but our data indicate stronger annual mean uptake than suggested by recent interpretations of profiling float observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Science (pre-March 2025) is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | The Southern Ocean plays an important role in determining atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), yet estimates of air-sea CO2 flux for the region diverge widely. In this study, we constrained Southern Ocean air-sea CO2 exchange by relating fluxes to horizontal and vertical CO2 gradients in atmospheric transport models and applying atmospheric observations of these gradients to estimate fluxes. Aircraft-based measurements of the vertical atmospheric CO2 gradient provide robust flux constraints. We found an annual mean flux of –0.53 ± 0.23 petagrams of carbon per year (net uptake) south of 45°S during the period 2009–2018. This is consistent with the mean of atmospheric inversion estimates and surface-ocean partial pressure of CO2 (PCO2)–based products, but our data indicate stronger annual mean uptake than suggested by recent interpretations of profiling float observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00368075 |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.abi4355 |
