Air–sea CO 2 fluxes in the Caribbean Sea from 2002–2004

Abstract

Air–sea fluxes in the Caribbean Sea are presented based on measurements of partial pressure of CO 2 in surface seawater, pCO 2sw, from an automated system onboard the cruise ship Explorer of the Seas for 2002 through 2004. The pCO 2sw values are used to develop algorithms of pCO 2sw based on sea surface temperature (SST) and position. The algorithms are applied to assimilated SST data and remotely sensed winds on a 1° by 1° grid to estimate the fluxes on weekly timescales in the region. The positive relationship between pCO 2sw and SST is lower than the isochemical trend suggesting counteracting effects from biological processes. The relationship varies systematically with location with a stronger dependence further south. Furthermore, the southern area shows significantly lower pCO 2sw in the fall compared to the spring at the same SST, which is attributed to differences in salinity. The annual algorithms for the entire region show a slight trend between 2002 and 2004 suggesting an increase of pCO 2sw over time. This is in accord with the increasing pCO 2sw due the invasion of anthropogenic CO 2. The annual fluxes of CO 2 yield a net invasion of CO 2 to the ocean that ranges from − 0.04 to − 1.2 mol m − 2 year − 1 over the 3 years. There is a seasonal reversal in the direction of the flux with CO 2 entering into the ocean during the winter and an evasion during the summer. Year-to-year differences in flux are primarily caused by temperature anomalies in the late winter and spring period resulting in changes in invasion during these seasons. An analysis of pCO 2sw before and after hurricane Frances (September 4–6, 2004), and wind records during the storm suggest a large local enhancement of the flux but minimal influence on annual fluxes in the region.