ALBERT

Description: A coupled biogeochemical-physical ocean model is used to study the long term variations of surface pCO2 in the North Atlantic Ocean. The model agrees well with recent underway pCO2 observations from the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) database in various locations in the North Atlantic. The distinct seasonal cycles observed at different parts of the North Atlantic are well reproduced by the model. In most regions except the subpolar domain, the recent observed trends in pCO2 and air–sea carbon fluxes are also simulated by the model. Over a long period between 1960–2008, the primary mode of surface pCO2 variability is dominated by the increasing trend associated with the invasion of anthropogenic CO2 into the ocean. We show that, to first order, the ocean surface circulation and air–sea heat flux patterns can explain the spatial variability of this dominant increasing trend. Regions with strong surface mass transport and negative air–sea heat flux have the tendency to maintain lower surface pCO2. Regions of surface convergence and mean positive air–sea heat flux such as the subtropical gyre and the western subpolar gyre have faster increase in pCO2 over a long term period. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) plays a major role in controlling the variability occurring at interannual to decadal time scales. The NAO predominantly influences surface pCO2 in the North Atlantic by changing the physical properties of the North Atlantic water masses, particularly by perturbing the temperature and dissolved inorganic carbon in the surface ocean. We show that present underway observations are valuable for both calibrating the model, as well as for improving our understanding of the regionally heterogeneous variability of surface pCO2. In addition, they can be important for detecting any long term change in the regional carbon cycle due to ongoing climate change.