Sea-ice loss amplifies summertime decadal CO2 increase in the western Arctic Ocean

Rapid climate warming and sea-ice loss have induced major changes in the sea surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2). However, the long-term trends in the western Arctic Ocean are unknown. Here we show that in 1994–2017, summer pCO2 in the Canada Basin increased at twice the rate of atmospheric incre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature climate change 2020-07, Vol.10 (7), p.678-684
Main Authors: Ouyang Zhangxian, Qi, Di, Chen, Liqi, Takahashi, Taro, Zhong Wenli, DeGrandpre, Michael D, Chen, Baoshan, Gao Zhongyong, Nishino Shigeto, Murata Akihiko, Sun, Heng, Robbins, Lisa L, Jin Meibing, Wei-Jun, Cai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ablation
Arctic climate changes
Arctic climates
Basins
Biological activity
Biological effects
Biological uptake
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide atmospheric concentrations
Carbon dioxide concentration
Carbon dioxide exchange
Climate change
Global warming
Ice
Ocean warming
Oceans
Partial pressure
Polar environments
Sea ice
Sea surface
Summer
Trends
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Summary:Rapid climate warming and sea-ice loss have induced major changes in the sea surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2). However, the long-term trends in the western Arctic Ocean are unknown. Here we show that in 1994–2017, summer pCO2 in the Canada Basin increased at twice the rate of atmospheric increase. Warming and ice loss in the basin have strengthened the pCO2 seasonal amplitude, resulting in the rapid decadal increase. Consequently, the summer air–sea CO2 gradient has reduced rapidly, and may become near zero within two decades. In contrast, there was no significant pCO2 increase on the Chukchi Shelf, where strong and increasing biological uptake has held pCO2 low, and thus the CO2 sink has increased and may increase further due to the atmospheric CO2 increase. Our findings elucidate the contrasting physical and biological drivers controlling sea surface pCO2 variations and trends in response to climate change in the Arctic Ocean.Surface CO2 concentrations in the western Arctic Ocean differ due to local processes. During the period 1994–2017, the Canada Basin has shown rapid increases as warming and ice loss enhance air–sea exchange of CO2, whereas the Chukchi Shelf has strong biological activity, resulting in a CO2 sink.
ISSN:1758-678X
1758-6798
DOI:10.1038/s41558-020-0784-2