ALBERT

Description: Numerous studies have been conducted on the effect of ocean acidification on calcifiers inhabiting nearshore benthic habitats, such as the blue mussel Mytilus edulis. The majority of these experiments was performed under stable CO2 partial pressure (pCO2), carbonate chemistry and oxygen (O2) levels, reflecting present or expected future open ocean conditions. Consequently, levels and variations occurring in coastal habitats, due to biotic and abiotic processes, were mostly neglected, even though these variations largely override global long-term trends. To highlight this hiatus and guide future research, state-of-the-art technologies were deployed to obtain high-resolution time series of pCO2 and [O2] on a mussel patch within a Zostera marina seagrass bed, in Kiel Bay (western Baltic Sea) in August and September 2013. Combining the in situ data with results of discrete sample measurements, a full seawater carbonate chemistry was derived using statistical models. An average pCO2 more than 50 % (~ 640 µatm) higher than current atmospheric levels was found right above the mussel patch. Diel amplitudes of pCO2 were large: 765 ± 310 (mean ± SD). Corrosive conditions for calcium carbonates (Ωarag and Ωcalc 

Description: The Benguela Upwelling System (BUS) is the most productive of all eastern boundary upwelling ecosystems and it hosts a well-developed oxygen minimum zone. As such, the BUS is a potential hotspot for production of N2O, a potent greenhouse gas derived from microbially driven decay of sinking organic matter. Yet, the extent at which near-surface waters emit N2O to the atmosphere in the BUS is highly uncertain. Here we present the first high-resolution surface measurements of N2O across the northern part of the BUS (nBUS). We found strong gradients with a threefold increase in N2O concentrations near the coast as compared with open ocean waters. Our observations show enhanced sea-to-air fluxes of N2O (up to 1.67 nmol m−2 s−1) in association with local upwelling cells. Based on our data we suggest that the nBUS can account for 13% of the total coastal upwelling source of N2O to the atmosphere. ©2019. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Description: This study investigated the effect of hydrostatic pressure of up to 6000 dbar on Aanderaa and Sea-Bird oxygen optodes both in the laboratory and in the field. The overall pressure response is a reduction in the O2 reading by 3%–4% per 1000 dbar, which is closely linear with pressure and increases with temperature. Closer inspection reveals two superimposed processes with an opposite effect: an O2-independent pressure response on the luminophore that increases optode O2 readings and an O2-dependent change in luminescence quenching that decreases optode O2 readings. The latter process dominates and is mainly due to a shift in the equilibrium between the sensing membrane and seawater under elevated pressures. If only the dominant O2-dependent process is considered, then the Aanderaa and Sea-Bird optodes differ in their pressure response. Compensation of the O2-independent process, however, yields a uniform O2 dependence for Aanderaa optodes with standard foil and fast-response foil as well as for Sea-Bird optodes. A new scheme to calculate optode O2 from raw data is proposed to account for the two processes. The overall uncertainty of the optode pressure correction amounts to 0.3% per 1000 dbar, which is mainly due to variability between the sensors.

Description: A yet unexplained drift of (some) oxygen optodes during storage/transport and thus significant deviations from factory/laboratory calibrations have been a major handicap for autonomous oxygen observations. Optode drift appears to be systematic and is predominantly a slope effect due to reduced oxygen sensitivity. A small contribution comes from a reduced luminophore lifetime, which causes a small positive offset. A reliable in situ reference is essential to correct such a drift. Traditionally, this called for a ship-based reference cast, which poses some challenges for opportunistic float deployments. This study presents an easily implemented alternative using near-surface/in-air measurements of an Aanderaa optode on a 10-cm stalk and compares it to the more traditional approaches (factory, laboratory, and in situ deployment calibration). In-air samples show a systematic bias depending on the water saturation, which is likely caused by occasional submersions of the standard-height stalk optode. Linear regression of measured in-air supersaturation against in-water supersaturation (using ancillary meteorological data to define the saturation level) robustly removes this bias and thus provides a precise (0.2%) and accurate (1%) in situ correction that is available throughout the entire instrument’s lifetime.

Description: The physical (temperature, salinity, velocity) and biogeochemical (oxygen, nitrate) structure of an oxygen depleted coherent, baroclinic, anticyclonic mode-water eddy (ACME) is investigated using high-resolution autonomous glider and ship data. A distinct core with a diameter of about 70 km is found in the eddy, extending from about 60 to 200 m depth and. The core is occupied by fresh and cold water with low oxygen and high nitrate concentrations, and bordered by local maxima in buoyancy frequency. Velocity and property gradient sections show vertical layering at the flanks and underneath the eddy characteristic for vertical propagation (to several hundred-meters depth) of near inertial internal waves (NIW) and confirmed by direct current measurements. A narrow region exists at the outer edge of the eddy where NIW can propagate downward. NIW phase speed and mean flow are of similar magnitude and critical layer formation is expected to occur. An asymmetry in the NIW pattern is seen that possible relates to the large-scale Ekman transport interacting with ACME dynamics. NIW/mean flow induced mixing occurs close to the euphotic zone/mixed layer and upward nutrient flux is expected and supported by the observations. Combing high resolution nitrate (NO3−) data with the apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) reveals AOU:NO3− ratios of 16 which are much higher than in the surrounding waters (8.1). A maximum NO3− deficit of 4 to 6 µmol kg−1 is estimated for the low oxygen core. Denitrification would be a possible explanation. This study provides evidence that the recycling of NO3−, extracted from the eddy core and replenished into the core via the particle export, may quantitatively be more important. In this case, the particulate phase is of keys importance in decoupling the nitrogen from the oxygen cycling.

Description: The occurrence of mesoscale eddies that develop an extreme low oxygen environment at shallow depth (about 40 to 100 m) has recently been reported for the eastern tropical North Atlantic (ETNA). Their hydrographic structure suggests that the water mass inside the eddy is well isolated from ambient waters supporting the development of severe near-surface oxygen deficits. So far, hydrographic and biogeochemical characterization of these eddies was limited to a few autonomous surveys, using moorings, underwater gliders and profiling floats. In this study we present results from the first dedicated biogeochemical survey of one of these eddies conducted in March 2014 near the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory (CVOO). At the time of the survey the eddy core showed lowest oxygen concentrations of less than 5 μmol kg−1 and a pH of approx. 7.6 at the lower boundary of the euphotic zone. Correspondingly, the aragonite saturation level dropped to 1 thereby creating unfavorable conditions for calcifying organisms at this shallow depth. To our knowledge, such enhanced acidity within near-surface waters has never been reported before for the open Atlantic Ocean. Vertical distributions of particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM, DOM) generally show elevated concentrations in the surface mixed layer, but particularly DOM also accumulates beneath the oxygen minimum. Considering reference data from the upwelling region where these eddies are formed, we determined the oxygen consumption through remineralization of organic matter and found an enhancement of apparent oxygen utilization rates (aOUR, 0.26 μmol kg−1 d−1) by almost one order of magnitude when compared with typical values for the open North Atlantic. Computed downward fluxes for particulate organic carbon (POC) at 100 m were about 0.19 to 0.23 g C m−2 d−1 which clearly exceed fluxes typical for an oligotrophic open ocean setting. The observations support the view that the oxygen depleted eddies can be viewed as isolated, westwards propagating upwelling systems as their own.

Description: The Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) is a synthesis of quality-controlled fCO2 (fugacity of carbon dioxide) values for the global surface oceans and coastal seas with regular updates. Version 3 of SOCAT has 14.5 million fCO2 values from 3646 data sets covering the years 1957 to 2014. This latest version has an additional 4.4 million fCO2 values relative to version 2 and extends the record from 2011 to 2014. Version 3 also significantly increases the data availability for 2005 to 2013. SOCAT has an average of approximately 1.2 million surface water fCO2 values per year for the years 2006 to 2012. Quality and documentation of the data has improved. A new feature is the data set quality control (QC) flag of E for data from alternative sensors and platforms. The accuracy of surface water fCO2 has been defined for all data set QC flags. Automated range checking has been carried out for all data sets during their upload into SOCAT. The upgrade of the interactive Data Set Viewer (previously known as the Cruise Data Viewer) allows better interrogation of the SOCAT data collection and rapid creation of high-quality figures for scientific presentations. Automated data upload has been launched for version 4 and will enable more frequent SOCAT releases in the future. High-profile scientific applications of SOCAT include quantification of the ocean sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide and its long-term variation, detection of ocean acidification, as well as evaluation of coupled-climate and ocean-only biogeochemical models. Users of SOCAT data products are urged to acknowledge the contribution of data providers, as stated in the SOCAT Fair Data Use Statement. This ESSD (Earth System Science Data) "Living Data" publication documents the methods and data sets used for the assembly of this new version of the SOCAT data collection and compares these with those used for earlier versions of the data collection (Pfeil et al., 2013; Sabine et al., 2013; Bakker et al., 2014).

Description: The stable carbon isotope composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13C-DIC) can be used to quantify fluxes within the carbon system. For example, knowing the δ13C signature of the inorganic carbon pool can help in describing the amount of anthropogenic carbon in the water column. The measurements can also be used for evaluating modeled carbon fluxes, for making basin-wide estimates of anthropogenic carbon, and for studying seasonal and interannual variability or decadal trends in interior ocean biogeochemistry. For all these purposes, it is not only important to have a sufficient amount of data, but these data must also be internally consistent and of high quality. In this study, we present a δ13C-DIC dataset for the North Atlantic which has undergone secondary quality control. The data originate from oceanographic research cruises between 1981 and 2014. During a primary quality control step based on simple range tests, obviously bad data were flagged. In a second quality control step, biases between measurements from different cruises were quantified through a crossover analysis using nearby data of the respective cruises, and values of biased cruises were adjusted in the data product. The crossover analysis was possible for 24 of the 32 cruises in our dataset, and adjustments were applied to 11 cruises. The internal accuracy of this dataset is 0.017 ‰. The dataset is available via the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) at http://cdiac.ornl.gov/oceans/ndp_096/NAC13v1.html, doi:10.3334/CDIAC/OTG.NAC13v1.

Description: Accurate assessment of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and their redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere – the “global carbon budget” – is important to better understand the global carbon cycle, support the development of climate policies, and project future climate change. Here we describe data sets and methodology to quantify all major components of the global carbon budget, including their uncertainties, based on the combination of a range of data, algorithms, statistics, and model estimates and their interpretation by a broad scientific community. We discuss changes compared to previous estimates and consistency within and among components, alongside methodology and data limitations. CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry (EFF) are based on energy statistics and cement production data, respectively, while emissions from land-use change (ELUC), mainly deforestation, are based on combined evidence from land-cover change data, fire activity associated with deforestation, and models. The global atmospheric CO2 concentration is measured directly and its rate of growth (GATM) is computed from the annual changes in concentration. The mean ocean CO2 sink (SOCEAN) is based on observations from the 1990s, while the annual anomalies and trends are estimated with ocean models. The variability in SOCEAN is evaluated with data products based on surveys of ocean CO2 measurements. The global residual terrestrial CO2 sink (SLAND) is estimated by the difference of the other terms of the global carbon budget and compared to results of independent dynamic global vegetation models. We compare the mean land and ocean fluxes and their variability to estimates from three atmospheric inverse methods for three broad latitude bands. All uncertainties are reported as ±1σ, reflecting the current capacity to characterise the annual estimates of each component of the global carbon budget. For the last decade available (2006–2015), EFF was 9.3 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, ELUC 1.0 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, GATM 4.5 ± 0.1 GtC yr−1, SOCEAN 2.6 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, and SLAND 3.1 ± 0.9 GtC yr−1. For year 2015 alone, the growth in EFF was approximately zero and emissions remained at 9.9 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, showing a slowdown in growth of these emissions compared to the average growth of 1.8 % yr−1 that took place during 2006–2015. Also, for 2015, ELUC was 1.3 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, GATM was 6.3 ± 0.2 GtC yr−1, SOCEAN was 3.0 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, and SLAND was 1.9 ± 0.9 GtC yr−1. GATM was higher in 2015 compared to the past decade (2006–2015), reflecting a smaller SLAND for that year. The global atmospheric CO2 concentration reached 399.4 ± 0.1 ppm averaged over 2015. For 2016, preliminary data indicate the continuation of low growth in EFF with +0.2 % (range of −1.0 to +1.8 %) based on national emissions projections for China and USA, and projections of gross domestic product corrected for recent changes in the carbon intensity of the economy for the rest of the world. In spite of the low growth of EFF in 2016, the growth rate in atmospheric CO2 concentration is expected to be relatively high because of the persistence of the smaller residual terrestrial sink (SLAND) in response to El Niño conditions of 2015–2016. From this projection of EFF and assumed constant ELUC for 2016, cumulative emissions of CO2 will reach 565 ± 55 GtC (2075 ± 205 GtCO2) for 1870–2016, about 75 % from EFF and 25 % from ELUC. This living data update documents changes in the methods and data sets used in this new carbon budget compared with previous publications of this data set (Le Quéré et al., 2015b, a, 2014, 2013). All observations presented here can be downloaded from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (doi:10.3334/CDIAC/GCP_2016).