How well does wind speed predict air-sea gas transfer in the sea ice zone? A synthesis of radon deficit profiles in the upper water column of the Arctic Ocean
We present 34 profiles of radon-deficit from the ice-ocean boundary layer of the Beaufort Sea. Including these 34, there are presently 58 published radon-deficit estimates of k, the air-sea gas transfer velocity in the Arctic Ocean; 52 of these estimates were derived from water covered by 10% sea ic...
| Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/44045/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/44045/1/LooseJGROaccepted_postprint.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC012460 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51207 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51207.d001 |
| Summary: | We present 34 profiles of radon-deficit from the ice-ocean boundary layer of the Beaufort Sea. Including these 34, there are presently 58 published radon-deficit estimates of k, the air-sea gas transfer velocity in the Arctic Ocean; 52 of these estimates were derived from water covered by 10% sea ice or more. The average value of k collected since 2011 is 4.0 ± 1.2 m d−1 This exceeds the quadratic wind speed prediction of weighted kws = 2.85 m d−1 with mean weighted wind speed of 6.4 m s−1. We show how ice cover changes the mixed-layer radon budget, and yields an “effective gas transfer velocity”. We use these 58 estimates to statistically evaluate the suitability of a wind speed parameterization for k, when the ocean surface is ice covered. Whereas the six profiles taken from the open ocean indicate a statistically good fit to wind speed parameterizations, the same parameterizations could not reproduce k from the sea ice zone. We conclude that techniques for estimating k in the open ocean cannot be similarly applied to determine k in the presence of sea ice. The magnitude of k through gaps in the ice may reach high values as ice cover increases, possibly as a result of focused turbulence dissipation at openings in the free surface. These 58 profiles are presently the most complete set of estimates of k across seasons and variable ice cover; as dissolved tracer budgets they reflect air-sea gas exchange with no impact from air-ice gas exchange. |
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