IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v13y2022i1d10.1038_s41467-021-27780-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Storms drive outgassing of CO2 in the subpolar Southern Ocean

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah-Anne Nicholson

    (Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory (SOCCO), CSIR)

  • Daniel B. Whitt

    (National Center for Atmospheric Research
    NASA Ames Research Center)

  • Ilker Fer

    (University of Bergen)

  • Marcel D. Plessis

    (Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory (SOCCO), CSIR
    University of Gothenburg
    University of Cape Town)

  • Alice D. Lebéhot

    (Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory (SOCCO), CSIR
    University of Cape Town
    University of Cape Town)

  • Sebastiaan Swart

    (University of Gothenburg
    University of Cape Town)

  • Adrienne J. Sutton

    (NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory)

  • Pedro M. S. Monteiro

    (Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory (SOCCO), CSIR
    University of Cape Town)

Abstract

The subpolar Southern Ocean is a critical region where CO2 outgassing influences the global mean air-sea CO2 flux (FCO2). However, the processes controlling the outgassing remain elusive. We show, using a multi-glider dataset combining FCO2 and ocean turbulence, that the air-sea gradient of CO2 (∆pCO2) is modulated by synoptic storm-driven ocean variability (20 µatm, 1–10 days) through two processes. Ekman transport explains 60% of the variability, and entrainment drives strong episodic CO2 outgassing events of 2–4 mol m−2 yr−1. Extrapolation across the subpolar Southern Ocean using a process model shows how ocean fronts spatially modulate synoptic variability in ∆pCO2 (6 µatm2 average) and how spatial variations in stratification influence synoptic entrainment of deeper carbon into the mixed layer (3.5 mol m−2 yr−1 average). These results not only constrain aliased-driven uncertainties in FCO2 but also the effects of synoptic variability on slower seasonal or longer ocean physics-carbon dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah-Anne Nicholson & Daniel B. Whitt & Ilker Fer & Marcel D. Plessis & Alice D. Lebéhot & Sebastiaan Swart & Adrienne J. Sutton & Pedro M. S. Monteiro, 2022. "Storms drive outgassing of CO2 in the subpolar Southern Ocean," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-27780-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27780-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27780-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-021-27780-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-27780-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.