Characteristics Of Air-Sea Exchange Of CO₂ In The Arctic And Antarctic Regions As Well As Their Relative Oceanography

This study has based on the data from the First Chinese National Arctic Research Exploration and the 1 6th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE-16), respectively in July to September 1999 and November 1999 to April 2000. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in surface sea water and atmosphere (pCO2 and PCO2) along the tracks of two cruises was continually measured during the summer voyages. Distributions of pCO2 and PCO2 were described in different areas along the tracks. Characteristics of the distribution of pCO2 in those two regions were specially s tressed and their implications in oceanography were also discussed in more detail. Relationships have been calculated between partial pressure of carbon dioxide and its relative factors, such as the surface seawater temperature (SST), effect of hydrographic processes, and biological uptakes. Using these analyses, the importance of the Arctic and Antarctic Regions in future's global change were revealed. In the Southern Ocean, great differences between ice zone and none ice zone were found out based on characteristics of pCO2, which offered importantfoundation t o t he r ole a nd feedback o f s easonal i ce z one o f t he S outhem Ocean i n g lobal change. Also we found the dominating effect of circulation in Bering Sea on the carbon sink of Arctic, in Bering sea and the Arctic Ocean, and we found the conservative character of whole the subarctic water in the North Pacific Ocean, which is an important foundation on the role of the Arctic in global change.Some results can be summarized as the folio wings:1. The capacities of absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide in different sea areas from the Antarctic to the Arctic along the tracks (comparisons of sinks):Seasonal Ice Zone in the Southern Ocean (Mar. in summer) > the Arctic (Aug. in summer) > northeast of Pacific Ocean (July) > East China Sea (Mar.) > Chuckchi Sea (July and Aug. in summer) > northeast of Pacific Ocean (Aug.) > Taiwan Strait (Nov.) > Bering Sea (July and Aug. summer) > Okhotsk (July) > Bering Strait (Aug.) > Taiwan Strait (Mar.) > Yellow Sea and East China Sea (July) > East China Sea (Nov.) > Bering Strait (July) > 30-40癝 belt of the Southern Ocean (Nov.) > 30-40癝 belt of the Southern Ocean (Mar.) > Japan Sea (July) > the north of 30癝 belt in the Southern Indian Ocean(Nov.)2. The air to sea flux of carbon dioxide in the South China Sea in March is approach to zero, but appears as a source as the atmospheric C02 when November. Also shows as sources are those areas such as the tropic ocean, 40皸60癝 belt of the Southern Indian Ocean, and the Antarctic Divergence. Among those, the Southern Indian Ocean between 40?and 60癝 have all strong negative flux in March and November, suggesting as a strong source as the atmospheric CO2.3. The Southern Ocean presented a very complicated behavior of distributions of air -sea CO2 with hydrology and biology, including many sub-systems and hydrological fronts, which appeared different distributions of pCO2 greatly. The increasing of primary production will stimulate uptakes of CO: during summer in seasonal ice zone for the reasons of ice melting, by which there are much fresh water overlay the surface and caused the special vertical stability in the whole water column, and its benefit of plankton growth. Thus the biological factors dominate the feature of pCO2 distributions at that time. In none ice zone, however, such biological effects are not showed significantly at all. Therefore, It's the remarkable difference between Ice Zone and None Ice Zone, and by which the Southern Ocean can be divided into such two parts as ice zone and none ice zone.4. In g eneral, b iological e ffects w ill b ecome a s a m ain d riving force i n t he s easonal ice zone in austral summer, for example, it is strongly controlled by biological factor inside of Prydz Bay in austral summer as a strong sink of atmospheric CO2. In other regions,however, hydrological processes are still dominate distributions of pCO2, for exam...