Partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the peter the great bay surface water in the autumn

Abstract

During the hydrological survey from November 4 to 9, 2009, the underway measurements of pH, temperature, and salinity of the surface water in the Peter the Great Bay were carried out using the cell without the liquid junction in the running system. Using the measurement data, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) was computed which was below its atmospheric value and varied from 290 to 360μatm. Thus, during the period under study, the surface water of the bay forms the runoff for the atmospheric carbon dioxide. The minimum values of pCO2 are associated with the warm stream entering the bay from the southwestern part of the open sea. The maximum values of pCO2 are associated with the local upwelling of bottom waters. It is suggested that the horizontal convection caused by the nonuniform cooling of coastal water in the autumn forms the revealed mesoscale dynamic structures.