Publication Date:
2017-11-22
Description:
Based on a two-year dataset, the eastern Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Baffin Bay appear to be a modest summertime sink of atmospheric CO 2 . We measured surface water CO 2 partial pressure (pCO 2 ), salinity, and temperature throughout northern Baffin Bay, Nares Strait, and Lancaster Sound from the CCGS Amundsen during its 2013 and 2014 summer cruises. Surface water pCO 2 displayed considerable variability (144 – 364 μatm) but never exceeded atmospheric concentrations, and average calculated CO 2 fluxes in 2013 and 2014 were -12 and -3 mmol C m −2 d −1 (into the ocean), respectively. Ancillary measurements of chlorophyll a reveal low summertime productivity in surface waters. Based on total alkalinity and stable oxygen isotopes (δ 18 O) data, a strong riverine signal in northern Nares Strait coincided with relatively high surface pCO 2 , whereas areas of sea-ice melt occur with low surface pCO 2 . Further assessments, extending the seasonal observation period, are needed to properly constrain both seasonal and annual CO 2 fluxes in this region.
Print ISSN:
0148-0227
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
Permalink
