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Comparison of carbonate parameters and air–sea CO2 flux in the southern Yellow Sea and East China Sea during spring and summer of 2011

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Abstract

In this work, we examined the carbonate parameters, i.e. total alkalinity (TA), pH, and partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), and the air–sea CO2 flux (FCO2) in the continental shelves of the southern Yellow Sea (SYS) and East China Sea (ECS), based on two field surveys conducted in April and August of 2011. Surface pCO2 showed significant spatial variations, ranging from 246 to 686 µatm in spring (average ± standard deviation = 379 ± 95 µatm) and from 178 to 680 µatm in summer (384 ± 114 µatm). During the spring cruise, the central SYS (pCO2 < 240 µatm) and the Changjiang estuary (pCO2 < 300 µatm) were under-saturated with CO2, while the southern SYS and the southwestern ECS were supersaturated (pCO2 = 420–680 µatm). In summer, however, the CO2-supersaturated waters (pCO2 = 380–680 µatm) occupied a relatively wide area, including the nearshore of the SYS and the Changjiang estuary, whereas pCO2-deficient water (pCO2 = 220–380 µatm) was observed only at the offshore ECS. In general, the entire SYS and ECS area behaved as a sustained CO2 sink, with average FCO2 of −3.9 and −2.1 mmol m−2 d−1 in spring and summer, respectively. Phytoplankton production was the driving force for CO2 absorption, especially during the spring cruise. In addition, we found that typical water mixing processes and decomposition of terrestrial material were responsible for the release of CO2 in three turbidity maximum regions.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the NSFC-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers (no. U1406403), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (no. XDA11020102), the National Basic Research Program (973) of China (no. 2010CB951802), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC; no. 41306070). We would like to thank the captain and crew of the R/V Kexue 3 for their help during the field investigations. Special thanks are extended to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and constructive suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China

    Baoxiao Qu, Jinming Song, Huamao Yuan, Xuegang Li, Ning Li & Liqin Duan

  2. Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China

    Baoxiao Qu, Jinming Song, Huamao Yuan, Xuegang Li, Ning Li & Liqin Duan

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  1. Baoxiao Qu
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Correspondence to Jinming Song or Huamao Yuan.

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Qu, B., Song, J., Yuan, H. et al. Comparison of carbonate parameters and air–sea CO2 flux in the southern Yellow Sea and East China Sea during spring and summer of 2011. J Oceanogr 73, 365–382 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-016-0409-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-016-0409-6

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