Seasonal variability in the inorganic ocean carbon cycle in the Northwest Pacific evaluated using a biogeochemical and carbon model coupled with an operational ocean model

• Published in: Climatic Change
• Main Authors: Ishizu, Miho, Miyazawa, Yasumasa, Tsunoda, Tomohiko, Guo, Xinyu
• Other Authors: Sasakawa Peace Foundation of the Ocean Policy Research Institute
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2020
• Subjects: Atmospheric Science; Global and Planetary Change; Pacific; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02779-2; https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10584-020-02779-2.pdf; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-020-02779-2/fulltext.html

Abstract Here, we investigate the seasonal variability in the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) cycle in the Northwest Pacific using a high-resolution biogeochemical and carbon model coupled with an operational ocean model. Results show that the contribution to DIC from air–sea CO 2 exchange is generally offset by vertical mixing at the surface at all latitudes, with some seasonal variation. Biological processes in subarctic regions are evident at the surface, whereas in the subtropical region these processes take place within the euphotic layer and then DIC consumption deepens southward with latitude. Such latitudinal differences in biological processes lead to marked horizontal and vertical contrasts in the distribution of DIC, with modulation by horizontal and vertical advection–diffusion processes.