Ocean-Atmosphere CO2 Fluxes in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre: Association with Biochemical and Physical Factors during Spring

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

Macarena Burgos²  Marta Sendra¹  Teodora Ortega²  Rocio Ponce²  Abelardo Gómez-Parra²  Jesús M. Forja² 

[1] Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia (CSIC), Campus Rio San Pedro, s/n 11510, Puerto Real, Cadiz 11510, Spain; E-Mail:;CACYTMAR, Departamento de Quimica-Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cadiz, Puerto Real, Cadiz 11510, Spain; E-Mails:

关键词: CO₂ fluxes;    surface pCO₂;    North Atlantic subtropical gyre;    upwelling;   

DOI  :  10.3390/jmse3030891

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Sea surface partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂) was measured continuously in a transect of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre between Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (18.1° N, 68.5° W) and Vigo, Spain (41.9° N, 11.8° W) during spring 2011. Additional biogeochemical and physical variables measured to identify factors controlling the surface pCO₂ were analyzed in discrete samples collected at 16 sites along the transect at the surface and to a depth of 200 m. Sea surface pCO₂ varied between 309 and 662 μatm, and showed differences between the western and eastern subtropical gyre. The subtropical gyre acted as a net CO₂ sink, with a mean flux of −5.5 ± 2.2 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹. The eastern part of the transect, close to the North Atlantic Iberian upwelling off the Galician coast, was a CO₂ source with an average flux of 33.5 ± 9.0 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹. Our results highlight the importance of making more surface pCO₂ observations in the area located east of the Azores Islands since air-sea CO₂ fluxes there are poorly studied.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.