Publication Date:
2017-03-04
Description:
In Arctic fjords and high-latitude seas, strong surface cooling dominates during a large part of the year, generating water-side convection (w * w ) and enhanced turbulence in the water. These regions are key areas for the global carbon cycle; thus, a correct description of their air-sea gas exchange is crucial. CO 2 data were measured via the eddy covariance technique in marine Arctic conditions and reveal that water-side convection has a major impact on the gas transfer velocity. This is observed even at wind speeds as high as 9 m s −1 , where convective motions are generally thought to be suppressed by wind-driven turbulence. The enhanced air-sea transfer of CO 2 caused by water-side convection nearly doubled the CO 2 uptake; after scaled to open-sea conditions the contribution from w * w to the CO 2 flux remained as high as 34%. This phenomenon is expected to be highly important for the total carbon uptake in marine Arctic areas. ©2017. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
Print ISSN:
0094-8276
Electronic ISSN:
1944-8007
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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