TheannualcycleofsurfaceCO2andO2intheRossSeaA.docVIP

The annual cycle of surface CO2 and O2 in the Ross Sea: A model for gas exchange on the continental shelves of Antarctica Colm Sweeney1 1Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY 10964. Running Head: Annual cycle of surface CO2 and O2 in the Ross Sea Draft: 10/15/01 Submitted to: Special volume on the Ross Sea of the Antarctic Research Series Abstract The annual cycle of NO3 + NO2 + NH4, CO2 and O2 in the surface waters of the southwestern Ross Sea along 76.5oS is presented in this study. From the surface data and sea ice concentrations annual sea-air fluxes of CO2 (-1.5±1.5 mol C m-2) and O2 (-3.7±3.0 mol C m-2) are calculated and confirmed by a mass balance approach which accounts for the total flux of CO2 (0.16±0.13) and O2 (-5.2±0.2 mol C m-2) entering the Ross Sea from off the shelf. The mass balance approach assumes that a negligible amount of carbon and oxygen accumulates in the sediments and that all of the gas that ventilates to the atmosphere must be replaced by fresher waters entering the Ross Sea. Based on this study, a combination of winter sea ice cover and summer primary productivity prevent any significant change in the CO2 inventory due to gas exchange despite the high partial pressure of CO2 surface waters (425 ?atm) during the winter. Oxygen inventories in the Ross Sea, on the other hand, are significantly increased as a result of gas exchange with the atmosphere due to low O2 concentrations in the Ross Sea which are 90 ?mol kg-1 below saturation at sea surface temperatures of –1.89 C. The high flux associated with large sea surface gradient in O2 is the source of high PO4* found in deep waters formed along the Antarctic continental shelf. Based on stability of wintertime CO2 concentrations and the “ice rectification” hypothesis introduced by Yager et al. (1995), it is projected that with increases in atmospheric pCO2 and greater seasonal ice cover, the Ross Sea will become a greater CO2 sink with time. This analysis also supports