Observation-based anthropogenic carbon estimates in the Arctic Ocean

Although the Arctic Ocean is quickly changing wih climate change and increasing atmospheric CO2, it is still relatively poorly surveyed because of logistical difficulties. Observations that allow to estimate the change in carbon due to the addition of anthropogenic carbon (Cant) are much sparser than physical oceanography observations. Although estimates of Cant are sparse, they are highly important to quantify and monitor the ongoing ocean acidification to which the Arctic Ocean is particularly vulnerable. Here, we provide Cant estimates for 2005 across all basins and depths based on transient tracer measurements (e.g., CFCs and SF6) between 1983 and 2005 (Tanhua et al., 2009). Based on the transient tracers, Cant is estimated using the transit time distribution (TTD) concept. We further provide adjusted Cant estimates for 2005 (Terhaar et al., 2020). This adjustment corrects the original Cant estimates upward by accounting for a bias that results from the idealized assumption of gas equilibrium between atmosphere and surface water, both for CFC-12 and anthropogenic CO2. In the cooling northward flowing waters, CFC is undersatured while Cant is supersaturated. The adjustment leads to up to 12% higher Cant estimates.

Disciplines

Chemical oceanography

Keywords

Arctic Ocean, Anthropogenic carbon, Ocean acidification, Carbon sink, Transient tracers, CFCs

Location

90N, 66S, -180E, 180W

Data

FileSizeFormatProcessingAccess
Original ('Cant_2005') and ajdusted ('Cant_2005_corr') Cant estimates (micromol per kg) with associated temperature ('temp') and salinity ('sal') measurements.
532 KoMatlabProcessed data
Original ('Cant_2005') and ajdusted ('Cant_2005_corr') Cant estimates (micromol per kg) with associated temperature ('temp') and salinity ('sal') measurements.
540 KoNetCDFProcessed data
How to cite
Terhaar Jens, Tanhua Toste, Stöven Tim, Orr James C, Bopp Laurent (2005). Observation-based anthropogenic carbon estimates in the Arctic Ocean. SEANOE. https://doi.org/10.17882/103920
In addition to properly cite this dataset, it would be appreciated that the following work(s) be cited too, when using this dataset in a publication :
Terhaar J., Tanhua T., Stöven T., Orr J. C., Bopp L. (2020). Evaluation of Data‐Based Estimates of Anthropogenic Carbon in the Arctic Ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125 (6). https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016124
Tanhua Toste, Jones E. Peter, Jeansson Emil, Jutterström Sara, Smethie William M., Wallace Douglas W. R., Anderson Leif G. (2009). Ventilation of the Arctic Ocean: Mean ages and inventories of anthropogenic CO2 and CFC-11. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 114, C01002.

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