东中国海碳循环时空变化特征:三维物理-生物地球化学数值模型研究

In the east of China's seas, there is a wide range of the continental shelf. The nutrient cycle and the carbon cycle in the east of China's seas exhibit a strong variability on seasonal to decadal time scales. On the basis of a regional ocean modeling system(ROMS), a three dimensional physical-biogeochemical model including the carbon cycle with the resolution(1/12)°×(1/12)° is established to investigate the physical variations, ecosystem responses and carbon cycle consequences in the east of China's seas. The ROMS-Nutrient Phytoplankton Zooplankton Detritus(NPZD) model is driven by daily air-sea fluxes(wind stress, long wave radiation, short wave radiation, sensible heat and latent heat, freshwater fluxes) that derived from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP) reanalysis2 from 1982 to 2005. The coupled model is capable of reproducing the observed seasonal variation characteristics over the same period in the East China Sea. The integrated air-sea CO_2 flux over the entire east of China's seas reveals a strong seasonal cycle, functioning as a source of CO_2 to the atmosphere from June to October, while serving as a sink of CO_2 to the atmosphere in the other months. The 24 a mean value of airsea CO_2 flux over the entire east of China's seas is about 1.06 mol/(m~2·a), which is equivalent to a regional total of3.22 Mt/a, indicating that in the east of China's seas there is a sink of CO_2 to the atmosphere. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in sea water in the east of China's seas has an increasing rate of 1.15 μatm/a(1μtm/a=0.101 325Pa), but p H in sea water has an opposite tendency, which decreases with a rate of 0.001 3 a~(–1) from 1982 to 2005.Biological activity is a dominant factor that controls the pCO_2 air in the east of China's seas, and followed by a temperature. The inverse relationship between the interannual variability of air-sea CO_2 flux averaged from the domain area and Ni?o3 SST Index indicates that the carbon cycle in the east of China's seas has a high correlation with El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation(ENSO).     

Interannual variability in the wintertime air–sea flux of carbon dioxide in the northern North Atlantic, 1981–2001

Gridded fields of sea surface temperature (SST), sea level pressure (SLP), and wind speed were used in combination with data for the atmospheric mole fraction of CO₂ and an empirical relationship between measured values of the fugacity of carbon dioxide in surface water and SST, to calculate the air–sea CO₂ flux in the northern North Atlantic. The flux was calculated for each of the months October–March, in the time period 1981 until 2001, allowing for an assessment of the interannual variations in the region. Locally and on a monthly time scale, the interannual variability of the flux could be as high as ±100% in regions seasonally covered by sea ice. However, in open-ocean areas the variability was normally between ±20% and ±40%. The interannual variability was found to be approximately halved when fluxes averaged over each winter season were compared. Summarised over the whole northern North Atlantic, the air to sea carbon flux over winter totalled 0.08 Gton, with an interannual variability of about ±7%. On a monthly basis the interannual variations were slightly higher, about ±8% to ±13%. Changes in wind speed and atmospheric fCO₂ (the latter directly related to SLP variations) accounted for most of the interannual variations of the computed air–sea CO₂ fluxes. A tendency for increasing CO₂ flux into the ocean with increasing values of the NAO index was identified.     

Interannual variations of the air-sea carbon dioxide exchange in the different regions of the Pacific Ocean

Interannual variations of the air-sea CO 2 exchange from 1965 to 2000 in the Pacific Ocean are studied with a Pacific Ocean model.Two numerical experiments are performed,including the control run that is forced by climatological monthly mean physical data and the climate-change run that is forced by interannually varying monthly mean physical data.Climatological monthly winds are used in both runs to calculate the coefficient of air-sea CO 2 exchange.The analysis through the differences between the two runs shows that in the tropical Pacific the variation of export production induced by interannual variations of the physical fields is negatively correlated with that of the air-sea CO 2 flux,while there is no correlation or a weak positive correlation in the subtropical North and South Pacific.It indicates that the variation of the physical fields can modulate the variation of the air-sea CO 2 flux in converse ways in the tropical Pacific by changing the direct transport and biochemical process.Under the interannually varying monthly mean forcing,the simulated EOF1 of the air-sea CO 2 flux is basically consistent with that of sea surface temperature(SST) in the tropical Pacific,but contrary in the two subtropical Pacific Ocean.The correlation coefficient between the regionally integrated air-sea CO 2 flux and area-mean SST shows that when the air-sea CO 2 flux lags SST by about 5 months,the positive coefficient in the three regions is largest,indicating that in the tropical Pacific or on the longer time scale in the three regions,physical processes control the flux-SST relationship.     

Estimating pCO2 from sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic gyres

A simple one-dimensional model, validated with observations from ship of opportunity programs, was run at different locations in the North and South Atlantic gyres to produce seasonal partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂)–sea surface temperature (SST) relationships. The pCO₂–SST relationships obtained at different locations in the North Atlantic gyre can be approximated by two regression lines, one from February to July and another from August to January. An algorithm including SST, latitude, longitude and atmospheric pCO₂ was constructed for each period. The robustness of these relationships was tested along several transects in the North Atlantic gyre and found to be in good agreement with the observations. The same approach was used in the South Atlantic gyre, but more observations are required in this region. In both gyres, the pCO₂–SST relationships are close to 4%/°C, which is higher than the pCO₂–SST relationships deduced from a CO₂ climatology.     

The spatial distribution of surface <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> in the Southwestern East Sea/Japan sea during summer 2005

Fugacity of CO₂ (fCO₂), temperature, salinity, nutrients, and chlorophyll-a were measured in the surface waters of southwestern East Sea/Japan Sea in July 2005. Surface waters were divided into three waters based on hydrographic characteristics: the water with moderate sea surface temperature (SST) and high sea surface salinity (SSS) located east of the front (East water); the water with high SST and moderate SSS located west of the front (West water); and the water with low SST and SSS located in the middle part of the study area (Middle water). High fCO₂ larger than 420 μatm were found in the West water. In the Middle water, CO₂ was undersaturated with respect to the atmosphere, with values between 246 and 380 μatm. Moderate fCO₂ values ranging from 370 to 420 μatm were observed in the East water. For the East and West waters, estimates of temperature dependency of fCO₂ (12.6 and 15.1 μatm °C⁻¹, respectively) were rather similar to a theoretical value, indicating that SST is likely to be a major factor controlling the surface fCO₂ distribution in these two regions. In the Middle water, however, the estimated temperature dependence was somewhat lower than the theoretical value, and relatively high concentrations of surface chlorophyll-a coincided with the low surface fCO₂, implying that biological uptake may considerably affect the fCO₂ distribution. The net sea-to-air CO₂ flux of the study area was estimated to be 0.30±4.81 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ in summer, 2005.     

Global air-sea surface carbon-dioxide transfer velocity and flux estimated using ERS-2 data and a new parametric formula

Using data from the European remote sensing scatterometer（ERS-2） from July 1997 to August 1998,global distributions of the air-sea CO₂ transfer velocity and flux are retrieved.A new model of the air-sea CO₂ transfer velocity with surface wind speed and wave steepness is proposed.The wave steepness（5） is retrieved using a neural network（NN） model from ERS-2 scatterometer data,while the wind speed is directly derived by the ERS-2 scatterometer.The new model agrees well with the formulations based on the wind speed and the variation in the wind speed dependent relationships presented in many previous studies can be explained by this proposed relation with variation in wave steepness effect.Seasonally global maps of gas transfer velocity and llux are shown on the basis of the new model and the seasonal variations of the transfer velocity and llux during the 1 a period.The global mean gas transfer velocity is 30 cm/h after area-weighting and Schmidt number correction and its accuracy remains calculation with in situ data.The highest transfer velocity occurs around 60°N and 60°S,while the lowest on the equator.The total air to sea CO₂ llux（calculated by carbon） in that year is 1.77 Pg.The strongest source of CO₂ is in the equatorial east Pacific Ocean, while the strongest sink is in the 68°N.Full exploration of the uncertainty of this estimate awaits further data.An effectual method is provided to calculate the effect of waves on the determination of air-sea CO₂ transfer velocity and fluxes with ERS-2 scatterometer data.     

Natural air–sea flux of CO2 in simulations of the NASA-GISS climate model: Sensitivity to the physical ocean model formulation

Results from twin control simulations of the preindustrial CO₂ gas exchange (natural flux of CO₂) between the ocean and the atmosphere are presented here using the NASA-GISS climate model, in which the same atmospheric component (modelE2) is coupled to two different ocean models, the Russell ocean model and HYCOM. Both incarnations of the GISS climate model are also coupled to the same ocean biogeochemistry module (NOBM) which estimates prognostic distributions for biotic and abiotic fields that influence the air–sea flux of CO₂. Model intercomparison is carried out at equilibrium conditions and model differences are contrasted with biases from present day climatologies. Although the models agree on the spatial patterns of the air–sea flux of CO₂, they disagree on the strength of the North Atlantic and Southern Ocean sinks mainly because of kinematic (winds) and chemistry (pCO₂) differences rather than thermodynamic (SST) ones. Biology/chemistry dissimilarities in the models stem from the different parameterizations of advective and diffusive processes, such as overturning, mixing and horizontal tracer advection and to a lesser degree from parameterizations of biogeochemical processes such as gravitational settling and sinking. The global meridional overturning circulation illustrates much of the different behavior of the biological pump in the two models, together with differences in mixed layer depth which are responsible for different SST, DIC and nutrient distributions in the two models and consequently different atmospheric feedbacks (in the wind, net heat and freshwater fluxes into the ocean).     

Generating time-series grid data of sea surface temperature from isotherms in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean using coupled interpolation

Sea surface temperature (SST) isoline charts that were manually mapped using in situ SST data and satellite-derived SST data are valuable because they incorporate oceanographers’ knowledge and experience. This type of SST data is useful for studying sea conditions of an area, for analyzing environmental factors that could affect fishing grounds, as a parameter for atmospheric or oceanic models, or as a diagnostic tool for comparison with the SSTs produced by ocean models. However, isoline maps must be digitized and interpolated into grid data in order to be used in these applications. Herein, we propose a coupled interpolation (CI), which couples improved multi-section interpolation and single-point change surface interpolation containing orientation, for generating grid data from SST isolines. We interpolated 1049 SST isoline maps (temperature interval 1°), which cover an area of the northwestern Pacific Ocean (125°E–180°E, 26°N–50°N) and were published by the Japan Fisheries Information Service Center (JAFIC) during 1990–2000, to grid datasets with 15′ grid resolution. We assessed the quality of grid datasets by checking noise points, RMSE analysis, checking offset errors, retrieving percentage of Kuroshio axes and visually comparing inverse isotherms with original isotherms. The quality analysis and comparison with four other interpolators showed the CI interpolator to be a good technique for generating SST grid data from isotherms. We also computed the SST anomaly (SSTA) using the SST grid datasets. The amplitude values of integral SSTA in the area of 31–46°N, 170–180°E were low, whereas they were high in the SW–NE rectangular area of 35–46°N, 142–160°E.     

Seasonal and interannual variability of oceanic carbon cycling in the western and central tropical-subtropical pacific: A physical-biogeochemical modeling study

The oceanic carbon cycle in the tropical-subtropical Pacific is strongly affected by various physical processes with different temporal and spatial scales, yet the mechanisms that regulate air-sea CO₂ flux are not fully understood due to the paucity of both measurement and modeling. Using a 3-D physical-biogeochemical model, we simulate the partial pressure of CO₂ in surface water (pCO_2sea) and air-sea CO₂ flux in the tropical and subtropical regions from 1990 to 2004. The model reproduces well the observed spatial differences in physical and biogeochemical processes, such as: (1) relatively higher sea surface temperature (SST), and lower dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and pCO_2sea in the western than in the central tropical-subtropical Pacific, and (2) predominantly seasonal and interannual variations in the subtropical and tropical Pacific, respectively. Our model results suggest a non-negligible contribution of the wind variability to that of the air-sea CO₂ flux in the central tropical Pacific, but the modeled contribution of 7% is much less than that from a previous modeling study (30%; McKinley et al., 2004). While DIC increases in the entire region SST increases in the subtropical and western tropical Pacific but decreases in the central tropical Pacific from 1990 to 2004. As a result, the interannual pCO_2sea variability is different in different regions. The pCO_2sea temporal variation is found to be primarily controlled by SST and DIC, although the role of salinity and total alkalinity, both of which also control pCO_2sea, need to be elucidated by long-term observations and eddy-permitting models for better estimation of the interannual variability of air-sea CO₂ flux.     

基于环境因子的东南太平洋茎柔鱼资源补充量预报模型研究

东南太平洋茎柔鱼(Dosidicus gigas)是短生命周期种类,其资源量极易受到海洋环境变化的影响。根据2003—2012年我国鱿钓船在东南太平洋的生产统计数据,以及茎柔鱼栖息地的海表温度(SST)、海面高度(SSH)、叶绿素a浓度(chl a)数据,利用相关性分析法分析茎柔鱼资源丰度和补充量(以单位捕捞努力量渔获量为指标,t/d)与栖息海域20°S—20°N、110°W—70°W的SST、SSH、chl a浓度的相关性,获取相关系数大的关键海区位置,同时加入茎柔鱼产卵场、索饵场最适表层水温范围占总面积的比例(分别用PS、PF表示)两个参数,建立三种基于主要环境因子的误差反向传播(EBP)神经网络资源补充量预报模型,进行了比较。结果表明:茎柔鱼资源丰度与SST、SSH、chl a浓度的相关系数最大值海域为7月份的Point1(13°N,102°W)海区、9月份的Point3(11°N,102°W)海区和3月份的Point5(8°S,107°W)海区;资源补充量与SST、SSH、chl a浓度的相关系数最大值海域为6月份的Point2(8°N,103.5°W)海区、2月份的Point4(12°N,97.5°W)海区和10月份的Point6(10°S,93.5°W)海区。EBP神经网络预报模型结果认为:基于产卵环境关键影响因子的方案2(以Point2的SST、Point4的SSH、Point6的chl a浓度、PS作为模型输入因子)和基于全部环境关键影响因子的方案3(以Point1与Point2的SST、Point3与Point4的SSH、Point5与Point6的chl a浓度、PS、PF作为模型输入因子)的两种神经网络预报模型均方误差较小,其准确率可达90%左右。     

Prediction of surface ocean pCO2 from observations of salinity, temperature and nitrate: The empirical model perspective

This paper evaluates whether a thermodynamic ocean-carbon model can be used to predict the monthly mean global fields of the surface-water partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO_2SEA) from sea surface salinity (SSS), temperature (SST), and/or nitrate (NO₃) concentration using previously published regional total inorganic carbon (C_T) and total alkalinity (A_T) algorithms. The obtained pCO_2SEA values and their amplitudes of seasonal variability are in good agreement with multi-year observations undertaken at the sites of the Bermuda Atlantic Timeseries Study (BATS) (31°50’N, 60°10’W) and the Hawaiian Ocean Time-series (HOT) (22°45’N, 158°00’W). By contrast, the empirical models predicted C_T less accurately at the Kyodo western North Pacific Ocean Time-series (KNOT) site (44°N, 155°E) than at the BATS and HOT sites, resulting in greater uncertainties in pCO_2SEA predictions. Our analysis indicates that the previously published empirical C_T and A_T models provide reasonable predictions of seasonal variations in surface-water pCO_2SEA within the (sub) tropical oceans based on changes in SSS and SST; however, in high-latitude oceans where ocean biology affects C_T to a significant degree, improved C_T algorithms are required to capture the full biological effect on C_T with greater accuracy and in turn improve the accuracy of predictions of pCO_2SEA.     

中国南海、东海及黄海海域海气二氧化碳通量与生产力的物理生物地球化学模拟研究

Marginal seas play important roles in regulating the global carbon budget, but there are great uncertainties in estimating carbon sources and sinks in the continental margins. A Pacific basin-wide physical-biogeochemical model is used to estimate primary productivity and air-sea CO_2 flux in the South China Sea(SCS), the East China Sea(ECS), and the Yellow Sea(YS). The model is forced with daily air-sea fluxes which are derived from the NCEP2 reanalysis from 1982 to 2005. During the period of time, the modeled monthly-mean air-sea CO_2 fluxes in these three marginal seas altered from an atmospheric carbon sink in winter to a source in summer. On annualmean basis, the SCS acts as a source of carbon to the atmosphere(16 Tg/a, calculated by carbon, released to the atmosphere), and the ECS and the YS are sinks for atmospheric carbon(–6.73 Tg/a and –5.23 Tg/a, respectively,absorbed by the ocean). The model results suggest that the sea surface temperature(SST) controls the spatial and temporal variations of the oceanic pCO_2 in the SCS and ECS, and biological removal of carbon plays a compensating role in modulating the variability of the oceanic pCO_2 and determining its strength in each sea,especially in the ECS and the SCS. However, the biological activity is the dominating factor for controlling the oceanic pCO_2 in the YS. The modeled depth-integrated primary production(IPP) over the euphotic zone shows seasonal variation features with annual-mean values of 293, 297, and 315 mg/(m~2·d) in the SCS, the ECS, and the YS, respectively. The model-integrated annual-mean new production(uptake of nitrate) values, as in carbon units, are 103, 109, and 139 mg/(m~2·d), which yield the f-ratios of 0.35, 0.37, and 0.45 for the SCS, the ECS, and the YS, respectively. Compared to the productivity in the ECS and the YS, the seasonal variation of biological productivity in the SCS is rather weak. The atmospheric pCO_2 increases from 1982 to 2005, which is consistent with the anthropogenic CO_2 input to the atmosphere. The oceanic pCO_2 increases in responses to the atmospheric pCO_2 that drives air-sea CO_2 flux in the model. The modeled increase rate of oceanic pCO_2 is0.91 μatm/a in the YS, 1.04 μatm/a in the ECS, and 1.66 μatm/a in the SCS, respectively.     

集合同化方法在黄海海域海表面温度同化中的应用

The effects of sea surface temperature(SST) data assimilation in two regional ocean modeling systems were examined for the Yellow Sea(YS). The SST data from the Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Analysis(OSTIA) were assimilated. The National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center(NMEFC) modeling system uses the ensemble optimal interpolation method for ocean data assimilation and the Kunsan National University(KNU) modeling system uses the ensemble Kalman filter. Without data assimilation, the NMEFC modeling system was better in simulating the subsurface temperature while the KNU modeling system was better in simulating SST. The disparity between both modeling systems might be related to differences in calculating the surface heat flux, horizontal grid spacing, and atmospheric forcing data. The data assimilation reduced the root mean square error(RMSE) of the SST from 1.78°C(1.46°C) to 1.30°C(1.21°C) for the NMEFC(KNU) modeling system when the simulated temperature was compared to Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature(OISST) SST dataset. A comparison with the buoy SST data indicated a 41%(31%) decrease in the SST error for the NMEFC(KNU) modeling system by the data assimilation. In both data assimilative systems, the RMSE of the temperature was less than 1.5°C in the upper 20 m and approximately 3.1°C in the lower layer in October. In contrast, it was less than 1.0°C throughout the water column in February. This study suggests that assimilations of the observed temperature profiles are necessary in order to correct the lower layer temperature during the stratified season and an ocean modeling system with small grid spacing and optimal data assimilation method is preferable to ensure accurate predictions of the coastal ocean in the YS.     

The Air-Sea Exchange of CO2 in the East Sea (Japan Sea)

During CREAMS expeditions, fCO₂ for surface waters was measured continuously along the cruise tracks. The fCO₂ in surface waters in summer varied in the range 320–440 μatm, showing moderate supersaturation with respect to atmospheric CO₂. In winter, however, fCO₂ showed under-saturation of CO₂ in most of the area, while varying in a much wider range from 180 to 520 μatm. Some very high fCO₂ values observed in the northern East Sea (Japan Sea) appeared to be associated with the intensive convection system developed in the area. A gas-exchange model was developed for describing the annual variation of fCO₂ and for estimating the annual flux of CO₂ at the air-sea interface. The model incorporated annual variations in SST, the thickness of the mixed layer, gas exchange associated with wind velocity, biological activity and atmospheric concentration of CO₂. The model shows that the East Sea releases CO₂ into the atmosphere from June to September, and absorbs CO₂ during the rest of the year, from October through May. The net annual CO₂ flux at the air-sea interface was estimated to be 0.032 (±0.012) Gt-C per year from the atmosphere into the East Sea. Water column chemistry shows penetration of CO₂ into the whole water column, supporting a short turnover time for deep waters in the East Sea. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

长江口邻近海域海表温度变化特征分析

基于遥感数据,采用功率谱和相关性分析等方法,研究了长江口邻近海域海表温度(SST)的时空变化特征以及影响因素。结果表明:1982—2017年长江口邻近海域的SST 整体表现为每10 a升温约0.48 ^°C的趋势,且具有10.0,3.6,2.4和1.0 a的振荡周期。长期以来,冬、春、夏、秋四季的长江口邻近海域SST总体呈现升温趋势,其中春季的升温趋势最显著,而秋季变化趋势最不明显。研究海区的SST呈现明显西北—东南向温度递增的分布特征。此外,长江口径流量的变化对邻近海域的SST具有一定影响,从多年变化来看,径流量增大(减小),长江口邻近海域SST随之升高(降低),从月变化来看,3月、4月和9月的长江径流对SST有影响。气温对SST具有一定的强迫作用,大气温度的总体趋势是升高的,通过海气相互作用进行热传输,从而造成长江口邻近海域SST升温。     

2008年夏季加拿大海盆净二氧化碳吸收量评估

The third Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition(CHINARE) was conducted in the summer of 2008.During the survey,the surface seawater partial pressure of CO_2(pCO_2) was measured,and sea water samples were collected for CO_2 measurement in the Canada Basin.The distribution of pCO_2 in the Canada Basin was determined,the influencing factors were addressed,and the air-sea CO_2 flux in the Canada Basin was evaluated.The Canada Basin was divided into three regions:the ice-free zone(south of 77°N),the partially ice-covered zone(77°–80°N),and the heavily ice-covered zone(north of 80°N).In the ice-free zone,pCO_2 was high(320 to 368μatm,1 μatm=0.101 325 Pa),primarily due to rapid equilibration with atmospheric CO_2 over a short time.In the partially ice-covered zone,the surface pCO_2 was relatively low(250 to 270 μatm) due to ice-edge blooms and icemelt water dilution.In the heavily ice-covered zone,the seawater pCO_2 varied between 270 and 300 μatm due to biological CO_2 removal,the transportation of low pCO_2 water northward,and heavy ice cover.The surface seawater pCO_2 during the survey was undersaturated with respect to the atmosphere in the Canada Basin,and it was a net sink for atmospheric CO_2.The summertime net CO_2 uptake of the ice-free zone,the partially ice-covered zone and the heavily ice-covered zone was(4.14±1.08),(1.79±0.19),and(0.57±0.03) Tg/a(calculated by carbon,1Tg=10~(12) g),respectively.Overall,the net CO_2 sink of the Canada Basin in the summer of 2008 was(6.5±1.3) Tg/a,which accounted for 4%–10% of the Arctic Ocean CO_2 sink.     

Plankton carbon metabolism and air–water CO2 fluxes at a hypereutrophic tropical estuary

Multiple biotic and abiotic drivers regulate the balance between CO₂ assimilation and release in surface waters. In the present study, we compared in situ measurements of plankton carbon metabolism (primary production and respiration) to calculated air–water CO₂ fluxes (based on abiotic parameters) during 1 year (2008) in a hypereutrophic tropical estuary (Recife Harbor, NE Brazil – 08°03′S, 34°52′W) to test the hypothesis that high productivity leads to a net CO₂ flux from the atmosphere. The calculated CO₂ fluxes through the air–water interface (FCO₂) were negative throughout the year (FCO₂: –2 to –9 mmol C·m^?2·day^?1), indicating that Recife Harbor is an atmospheric CO₂ sink. Respiration rates of the plankton community ranged from 2 to 45 mmol C·m^?2·hr^?1. Gross primary production ranged from 0.2 to 281 mmol C·m^?2·hr^?1, exceeding respiration during most of the year (net autotrophy), except for the end of the wet season, when the water column was net heterotrophic. The present results highlight the importance of including eutrophic tropical shallow estuaries in global air–water CO₂ flux studies, in order to better understand their role as a sink of atmospheric CO₂.     

Variability of sea surface temperature and warm pool area in the South China Sea and its relationship to the western Pacific warm pool

Sea surface temperature (SST) data derived from satellite and in situ measurements are used to study the thermal variability in the South China Sea (SCS). Time–frequency–energy distributions, periods of variability, and trends are computed by the Hilbert–Huang transform method. The SST trend from 1982 to 2005 is 0.276°C per decade in the SCS which is higher than 0.144°C per decade in the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP). The warm pool (SST ≥ 28°C) area in the SCS has increased by 0.20 × 10⁶ km² per decade. The SST and area of the warm pool in the SCS are strongly correlated, respectively, with the SST and area of the WPWP with a time lag of 1 month, suggestive of a strong connection between these two warm pools. Once the annual cycle is eliminated, decadal oscillations dominate the variability of SST and warm pool area in the SCS.     

High short-term variability of CO2 fluxes during an upwelling event off the Chilean coast at 30°S

pH and alkalinity measurements from a coastal upwelling area located near 30°S (Coquimbo, Chile), are used to describe the short-term variations of CO₂ air–sea exchanges over a period of one week in summer 1996. A 180 km ocean–coastal transect, together with two almost-synoptic grid surveys off Coquimbo covering approximate 2500 km² each, showed that during and immediately after a 4 day long southwesterly wind event (24–28 January) a large area of cold surface water (≈14°C), highly supersaturated in CO₂ (fCO₂ up to 900 μatm), was located near the coast. Three days after the end of the event, the second grid survey showed that in most of the study area the surface temperature and pH had increased significantly (by 1–3°C and 0.05–0.2, respectively), and that the surface water was no longer supersaturated in CO₂. The CO₂-supersaturated water observed in the first grid survey was identified as upwelled subsurface equatorial water, a water mass with its core at about 200 m depth: the depth from which the water upwells is a major determinant of the surface water fCO₂. Integrated C fluxes within a 20 km wide coastal strip (1900 km²) indicate a strong outgassing of CO₂ from the ocean under upwelling conditions (Grid 1; 121 t C day^-1), while the net C exchange was directed to the ocean during the relaxation period (Grid 2; 19 t C day^-1). Estimates of CO₂ fluxes in upwelling areas based on surface water fCO₂ measurements must therefore take into account these short-term variations: reliance on longer-term averages and interpolation will lead to erroneous results.     

Summer and winter air–sea CO2 fluxes in the Southern Ocean

The seasonal variability of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) system in the Southern Ocean, south of 50°S, is analysed from observations obtained in January and August 2000 during OISO cruises conducted in the Indian Antarctic sector. In the seasonal ice zone, SIZ (south of 58°S), surface ocean CO₂ concentrations are well below equilibrium during austral summer. During this season, when sea-ice is not obstructing gas exchange at the air–sea interface, the oceanic CO₂ sink ranges from −2 to −4 mmol/m²/d in the SIZ. In the permanent open ocean zone, POOZ (50–58°S), surface oceanic fugacity fCO₂ increases from summer to winter. The seasonal fCO₂ variations (from 10 to 30 μatm) are relatively low compared to seasonal amplitudes observed in the subtropics or the subantarctic zones. However, these variations in the POOZ are large enough to cross the atmospheric level from summer to winter. Therefore, this region is neither a permanent CO₂ sink nor a permanent CO₂ source. In the POOZ, air–sea CO₂ fluxes calculated from observations are about −1.1 mmol/m²/d in January (a small sink) and 2.5 mmol/m²/d in August (a source). These estimates obtained for only two periods of the year need to be extrapolated on a monthly scale in order to calculate an integrated air–sea CO₂ flux on an annual basis. For doing this, we use a biogeochemical model that creates annual cycles for nitrate, inorganic carbon, total alkalinity and fCO₂. The changing pattern of ocean CO₂ summer sink and winter source is well reproduced by the model. It is controlled mainly by the balance between summer primary production and winter deep vertical mixing. In the POOZ, the annual air–sea CO₂ flux is about −0.5 mol/m²/yr, which is small compared to previous estimates based on oceanic observations but comparable to the small CO₂ sink deduced from atmospheric inverse methods. For reducing the uncertainties attached to the global ocean CO₂ sink south of the Polar Front the regional results presented here should be synthetized with historical and new observations, especially during winter, in other sectors of the Southern Ocean.