Ocean-Atmosphere CO2 Fluxes in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre: Association with Biochemical and Physical Factors during Spring

• Published in: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
• Main Authors: Macarena Burgos, Marta Sendra, Teodora Ortega, Rocio Ponce, Abelardo Gómez-Parra, Jesús M. Forja
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2015
• Subjects: CO2 fluxes; surface pCO2; North Atlantic subtropical gyre; upwelling; Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering; VM1-989; Oceanography; GC1-1581; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse3030891; https://doaj.org/article/3820718546354c5babea907662b8328f

Sea surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) was measured continuously in a transect of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre between Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (18.1° N, 68.5° W) and Vigo, Spain (41.9° N, 11.8° W) during spring 2011. Additional biogeochemical and physical variables measured to identify factors controlling the surface pCO2 were analyzed in discrete samples collected at 16 sites along the transect at the surface and to a depth of 200 m. Sea surface pCO2 varied between 309 and 662 μatm, and showed differences between the western and eastern subtropical gyre. The subtropical gyre acted as a net CO2 sink, with a mean flux of −5.5 ± 2.2 mmol m−2 day−1. The eastern part of the transect, close to the North Atlantic Iberian upwelling off the Galician coast, was a CO2 source with an average flux of 33.5 ± 9.0 mmol m−2 day−1. Our results highlight the importance of making more surface pCO2 observations in the area located east of the Azores Islands since air-sea CO2 fluxes there are poorly studied.