Gas transfer velocities in Norwegian fjords and the adjacent North Atlantic waters

Abstract

Summary We investigated air-sea carbon dioxide (CO2) transfer in situ to determine the role of wind and turbulence in forcing gas transfer. In situ gas transfer velocities of CO2 were measured with a floating chamber technique along the Norwegian coast and inside the Sogne- and Trondheimsfjord. Gas transfer velocities were related to wind speed and turbulence, but neither wind speed nor turbulence can satisfactorily predict gas transfer velocity. However, comparison to existing wind-based parameterizations showed that the data from this study have a similar trend. Generally, we measured higher transfer velocities than the parameterizations predict. In the North Atlantic, we measured transfer velocities of up to 54.9 cm h−1 versus predicted transfer velocities of 6.3 cm h−1 at a wind speed of 3.7 m s−1. In addition, we observed that measurements of transfer velocities at wind speeds below 4 m s−1 are higher than predictions. Wind-based parameterizations are lacking data in the low wind regime for validation, and we provide 25 data points for this critical wind speed range. Overall, results indicate that Norwegian fjords and the adjacent North Atlantic are sinks for atmospheric CO2 during summer, with uptake rates of −9.6 ± 7.6 μmol m−2 min−1 and −4.1 ± 1.7 μmol m−2 min−1, respectively. Due to the low partial pressure of CO2 in the upper water layer of the stratified fjords (down to 150.7 μatm), the Sogne- and Trondheimsfjord absorb 196 tons of carbon per day during the summer.