Carbon dioxide in the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea: Upwelling and mixing

Abstract

Measurements of the equilibrium concentration of carbon dioxide with respect to air in the surface waters of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea made on a summer 1968 cruise aboard the R.V. Oceanographer were compared with earlier data collected in the southeastern Pacific Ocean off Peru and Chile. Experimental procedure used infrared analysis of equilibrated air and sea water for CO2. Supersaturation of CO3 in the sea with respect to air was noted within northeastern Pacific coastal regions associated with dilution by river inflow and upwelling. Similarly, data obtained off the South American coast showed high surface-water concentrations of CO2 in areas of upwelling. Undersaturation was observed in the northeast Pacific Ocean near Unimak Pass and east of St. Matthew's Island in the Bering Sea. Near-equilibrium conditions were observed between 48° and 49°N latitude and from 161° to 150°30′W longitude.