Bibcode
Rerolle, V. M. C.; Esposito, M.; Hartman, S. E.; Hydes, D. J.; Achterberg, E. P.
Bibliographical reference
EGU General Assembly 2012, held 22-27 April, 2012 in Vienna, Austria., p.5691
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4
2012
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
The uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the oceans since the industrial
revolution is considered to have considerably buffered atmospheric CO2
increases and thereby slow global climate change. However, the CO2
uptake is reducing the ocean's capacity to absorb future atmospheric CO2
which may lead to more pronounced climate forcings. We investigated
the accumulation of anthropogenic carbon in the Atlantic Ocean on a
section between Scotland and Iceland, as part of the UK climate
monitoring strategy. This part of the North Atlantic represents an
important carbon sink and hence plays a key role in moderating the
climate. Repeat sampling on this section known as the "Extended Ellet
Line -EEL" has be carried out on three recent cruises in 2009, 2010 and
2011 for work on the carbonate system. The most detailed dissolved
inorganic carbon and alkalinity measurements from RRS Discovery cruise
D365 in 2011 are used to determine the distribution of anthropogenic
carbon along the EEL section. Two different approaches are used to
estimate the anthropogenic carbon concentration: a back calculation
technique (ΔC*) and the extended multiple linear regression method
with data from the CARINA dataset. The aim is to describe the
anthropogenic carbon distribution for the region by comparing the two
methods of calculation approaches and relate it to the water masses. The
impacts of large-scale atmospheric forcings such as the North Atlantic
Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability on the carbon
uptake rate are also considered.