Carbon Fluxes Across Boundaries in the Pacific Arctic Region in a Changing Environment

Abstract

While the inflow of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from the Pacific Ocean is relatively well quantified, the intermittent input from the East Siberian Sea (ESS) is not. The export flux to the Atlantic Ocean has unknown uncertainty due to a paucity of DIC data from the Canadian Archipelago. Within the region, the Chukchi Sea is the dominant site for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake, while the Beaufort Sea and the Canadian Archipelago take-up much less CO2 with latter potentially a weak source of CO2 during certain times of the year. Additionally, the ESS shelf is a net source of CO2. Summertime CO2 uptake capacity in the deep Canada Basin has increased greatly recently as sea-ice retreat progresses rapidly. The region appears to export more DIC than it receives by a small amount, suggesting that it is probably weakly net heterotrophic. In addition to labile organic carbon (OC) produced in the productive marginal seas, some riverine and coastal erosion-derived OC likely is also recycled. As warming progresses, the Arctic Ocean may produce and export more DIC. Whether this change will turn the Arctic Ocean into a weaker CO2 sink or even a CO2 source for the atmosphere is uncertain and dependent on multiple factors that control the rate of surface water CO2 increase versus the rate of the atmospheric CO2 increase.