Characterising Southern Ocean CO\\(_2\\) flux variability ...

• Main Author: Lenton, AA
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23230487.v1; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Characterising_Southern_Ocean_CO_2_flux_variability/23230487/1

The Southern Ocean, defined in this study as south of 40°S, plays an important role in mitigating climate change by sequestering atmospheric CO\\(_2\\). which has continued to rise at unprecedented rates due to anthropogenic activities. The Southern Ocean is a highly variable net sink of atmospheric CO\\(_2\\), but remains globally the most under-sampled ocean region for quantifying CO\\(_2\\) uptake. Therefore Southern Ocean CO\\(_2\\) flux estimates are subject to large uncertainties and hence the carbon budget remains poorly determined in this region. Consequently any prediction about how the Southern Ocean responds to climate change is also highly uncertain. To compensate for limited Southern Ocean observations, a coarse-resolution (1° x 2°) prognostic, biogeochemical ocean general circulation model, driven with NCEP R-1 atmospheric forcing, was used to simulate variability in the carbon cycle. My model simulations of the ocean carbon cycle were used to tackle two important questions: 1) What ...