Anthropogenic carbon distributions in the Atlantic Ocean: data-based estimates from the Arctic to the Antarctic

• Main Authors: M. Vázquez-Rodríguez, F. Touratier, C. Lo Monaco, D. W. Waugh, X. A. Padin, R. G. J. Bellerby, C. Goyet, N. Metzl, A. F. Ríos, F. F. Pérez
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2009
• Subjects: Ecology; QH540-549.5; Life; QH501-531; Geology; QE1-996.5; Arctic; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Nordic Seas
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/69e02deb666e477c9ef30bf184e2f046

Five of the most recent observational methods to estimate anthropogenic CO 2 (C ant ) are applied to a high-quality dataset from five representative sections of the Atlantic Ocean extending from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Between latitudes 60° N–40° S all methods give similar spatial distributions and magnitude of C ant . However, discrepancies are found in some regions, in particular in the Southern Ocean and Nordic Seas. The differences in the Southern Ocean have a significant impact on the anthropogenic carbon inventories. The calculated total inventories of C ant for the Atlantic referred to 1994 vary from 48 to 67 Pg (10 15 g) of carbon, with an average of 54±8 Pg C, which is higher than previous estimates. These results, both the detailed C ant distributions and extrapolated inventories, will help to evaluate biogeochemical ocean models and coupled climate-carbon models.