Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Carbon fluxes in the China Seas: An overview and perspective

  • Review
  • Published:
Science China Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper aims to provide an overview of regional carbon fluxes and budgets in the marginal seas adjacent to China. The “China Seas” includes primarily the South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and the Bohai Sea. Emphasis is given to CO2 fluxes across the air-sea interface and their controls. The net flux of CO2 degassing from the China Seas is estimated to be 9.5±53 Tg C yr−1. The total riverine carbon flux through estuaries to the China Seas is estimated as 59.6±6.4 Tg C yr−1. Chinese estuaries annually emit 0.74±0.02 Tg C as CO2 to the atmosphere. Additionally, there is a very large net carbon influx from the Western Pacific to the China Seas, amounting to ∼2.5 Pg C yr−1. As a first-order estimate, the total export flux of particulate organic carbon from the upper ocean of the China Seas is 240±80 Tg C yr−1. This review also attempts to examine current knowledge gaps to promote a better understanding of the carbon cycle in this important region.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alongi D M. 2009. The Energetics of Mangrove Forests. New York: Springer. 216

    Google Scholar 

  • Alongi D M. 2014. Carbon cycling and storage in mangrove forests. Annu Rev Mar Sci, 6: 195–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Alongi D M, Tirendi F, Dixon P, Trott L A, Brunskill G J. 1999. Mineralization of organic matter in intertidal sediments of a tropical semienclosed delta. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 48: 451–467

    Google Scholar 

  • Alongi D M, Pfitzner J, Trott L A, Tirendi F, Dixon P, Klumpp D W. 2005. Rapid sediment accumulation and microbial mineralization in forests of the mangrove Kandelia candel in the Jiulongjiang Estuary, China. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 63: 605–618

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson L G, Drange H, Chierici M, Fransson A, Johannessen T, Skjelvan I, Rey F. 2000. Annual carbon fluxes in the upper Greenland Sea based on measurements and a box-model approach. Tellus Ser B-Chem Phys Meteorol, 52: 1013–1024

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrigo K R, Pabi S, van Dijken G L, Maslowski W. 2010. Air-sea flux of CO2 in the Arctic Ocean, 1998–2003. J Geophys Res, 115: G04024

    Google Scholar 

  • Bai Y, Cai W J, He X, Zhai W, Pan D, Dai M, Yu P. 2015. A mechanistic semi-analytical method for remotely sensing sea surface pCO2 in riverdominated coastal oceans: A case study from the East China Sea. J Geophys Res, 120: 2331–2349

    Google Scholar 

  • Bates N R. 2006. Air-sea CO2 fluxes and the continental shelf pump of carbon in the Chukchi Sea adjacent to the Arctic Ocean. J Geophys Res, 111: C10013

    Google Scholar 

  • Bates N, Cai W J, Mathis J. 2011. The ocean carbon cycle in the western Arctic Ocean: Distributions and air-sea fluxes of carbon dioxide. Oceanography, 24: 186–201

    Google Scholar 

  • Bégovic M, Copin-Montégut C. 2002. Processes controlling annual variations in the partial pressure of CO2 in surface waters of the central northwestern Mediterranean Sea (Dyfamed site). Deep-Sea Res Part IITop Stud Oceanogr, 49: 2031–2047

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi A A, Pino D R, Perlender H G I, Osiroff A P, Segura V, Lutz V, Clara M L, Balestrini C F, Piola A R. 2009. Annual balance and seasonal variability of sea-air CO2 fluxes in the Patagonia Sea: Their relationship with fronts and chlorophyll distribution. J Geophys Res, 114: C03018

    Google Scholar 

  • Borges A V. 2011. Present day carbon dioxide fluxes in the coastal ocean and possible feedbacks under global change. In: Duarte P, Santana-Casiano J M, eds. Oceans and the Atmospheric Carbon Content. Dordrecht: Springer. 47–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Borges A V, Delille B, Frankignoulle M. 2005. Budgeting sinks and sources of CO2 in the coastal ocean: Diversity of ecosystems counts. Geophys Res Lett, 32: L14601

    Google Scholar 

  • Borges A V, Schiettecatte L S, Abril G, Delille B, Gazeau F. 2006. Carbon dioxide in European coastal waters. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 70: 375–387

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouillon S, Borges A V, Castañeda-Moya E, Diele K, Dittmar T, Duke N C, Kristensen E, Lee S Y, Marchand C, Middelburg J J, Rivera-Monroy V H, Smith Iii T J, Twilley R R. 2008. Mangrove production and carbon sinks: A revision of global budget estimates. Glob Biogeochem Cycle, 22: GB2013

    Google Scholar 

  • Canadell J G, Ciais P, Dhakal S, Dolman H, Friedlingstein P, Gurney K R, Held A, Jackson R B, Le Quéré C, Malone E L, Ojima D S, Patwardhan A, Peters G P, Raupach M R. 2010. Interactions of the carbon cycle, human activity, and the climate system: A research portfolio. Curr Opin Environ Sustainability, 2: 301–311

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai P, Chen W, Dai M, Wan Z, Wang D, Li Q, Tang T, Lv D. 2008. A highresolution study of particle export in the southern South China Sea based on 234Th:238U disequilibrium. J Geophys Res, 113: C04019

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai P, Huang Y, Chen M, Guo L, Liu G, Qiu Y. 2002. New production based on 228Ra-derived nutrient budgets and thorium-estimated POC export at the intercalibration station in the South China Sea. Deep-Sea Res Part I-Oceanogr Res Pap, 49: 53–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai P, Zhao D, Wang L, Huang B, Dai M. 2015. Role of particle stock and phytoplankton community structure in regulating particulate organic carbon export in a large marginal sea. J Geophys Res, 120: 2063–2095

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai W J. 2011. Estuarine and coastal ocean carbon paradox: CO2 sinks or sites of terrestrial carbon incineration? Annu Rev Mar Sci, 3: 123–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai W J, Dai M. 2004. Comment on “enhanced open ocean storage of CO2 from shelf sea pumping”. Science, 306: 1477c

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai W J, Dai M, Wang Y. 2006. Air-sea exchange of carbon dioxide in ocean margins: A province-based synthesis. Geophys Res Lett, 33: L12603

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai W J, Hu X, Huang W J, Murrell M C, Lehrter J C, Lohrenz S E, Chou W C, Zhai W, Hollibaugh J T, Wang Y, Zhao P, Guo X, Gundersen K, Dai M, Gong G C. 2011. Acidification of subsurface coastal waters enhanced by eutrophication. Nat Geosci, 4: 766–770

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai W J, Wang Y, Krest J, Moore W S. 2003. The geochemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon in a surficial groundwater aquifer in North Inlet, South Carolina, and the carbon fluxes to the coastal ocean. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 67: 631–639

    Google Scholar 

  • Cao L, Song J, Li X, Yuan H, Li N, Duan L. 2013. Research progresses in carbon budget and carbon cycle of the coastal salt marshes in China (in Chinese). Acta Ecol Sin, 33: 5141–5152

    Google Scholar 

  • Cao Z, Dai M. 2011. Shallow-depth CaCO3 dissolution: Evidence from excess calcium in the South China Sea and its export to the Pacific Ocean. Glob Biogeochem Cycle, 25: GB2019

    Google Scholar 

  • Cao Z, Dai M, Evans W, Gan J, Feely R. 2014. Diagnosing CO2 fluxes in the upwelling system off the Oregon-California coast. Biogeosciences, 11: 6341–6354

    Google Scholar 

  • Chao S Y, Shaw P T, Wu S Y. 1996. Deep water ventilation in the South China Sea. Deep-Sea Res Part I-Oceanogr Res Pap, 43: 445–466

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen C T A, Borges A V. 2009. Reconciling opposing views on carbon cycling in the coastal ocean: Continental shelves as sinks and near-shore ecosystems as sources of atmospheric CO2. Deep-Sea Res Part II-Top Stud Oceanogr, 56: 578–590

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen C T A, Huang T H, Chen Y C, Bai Y, He X, Kang Y. 2013. Air-sea exchanges of CO2 in the world’s coastal seas. Biogeosciences, 10: 6509–6544

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen C T A, Wang S L. 1999. Carbon, alkalinity and nutrient budgets on the East China Sea continental shelf. J Geophys Res, 104: 20675–20686

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen C T A, Wang S L, Chou W C, Sheu D D. 2006. Carbonate chemistry and projected future changes in pH and CaCO3 saturation state of the South China Sea. Mar Chem, 101: 277–305

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen J, Zheng L, Wiesner M G, Chen R, Zheng Y, Wong H K. 1998. Estimations of primary production and export production in the South China Sea based on sediment trap experiments. Chin Sci Bull, 43: 583–586

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen W. 2008. On the export fluxes, seasonality and controls of particulate organic carbon in the Northern South China Sea (in Chinese). Doctoral Dissertation. Xiamen: Xiamen University

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen W, Cai P, Dai M, Wei J. 2008. 234Th/238U disequilibrium and particulate organic carbon export in the northern South China Sea. J Oceanogr, 64: 417–428

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng X L, Luo Y Q, Xu Q, Lin G H, Zhang Q F, Chen J K, Li B. 2010. Seasonal variation in CH4 emission and its 13C-isotopic signature from Spartina alterniflora and Scirpus mariqueter soils in an estuarine wetland. Plant Soil, 327: 85–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Choi S H, Kim D, Shim J H, Kim K H, Min H S, Kim K R. 2012. Seasonal variations of surface fCO2 and sea-air CO2 fluxes in the Ulleung Basin of the East/Japan Sea. Terr Atmos Ocean Sci, 23: 343–353

    Google Scholar 

  • Chou W C, Chen Y L L, Sheu D D, Shih Y Y, Han C A, Cho C L, Tseng C M, Yang Y J. 2006. Estimated net community production during the summertime at the SEATS time-series study site, northern South China Sea: Implications for nitrogen fixation. Geophys Res Lett, 33: L22610

    Google Scholar 

  • Chou W C, Gong G C, Hung C C, Wu Y H. 2013. Carbonate mineral saturation states in the East China Sea: Present conditions and future scenarios. Biogeosciences, 10: 6453–6467

    Google Scholar 

  • Chou W C, Gong G C, Sheu D D, Hung C C, Tseng T F. 2009. Surface distributions of carbon chemistry parameters in the East China Sea in summer 2007. J Geophys Res, 114: C07026

    Google Scholar 

  • Chou W C, Gong G C, Tseng C M, Sheu D D, Hung C C, Chang L P, Wang L W. 2011. The carbonate system in the East China Sea in winter. Mar Chem, 123: 44–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Chou W C, Sheu D D D, Chen C T A, Wang S L, Tseng C M. 2005. Seasonal variability of carbon chemistry at the SEATS site, northern South China Sea between 2002 and 2003. Terr Atmos Ocean Sci, 16: 445–465

    Google Scholar 

  • Chou W C, Sheu D D, Chen C T A, Wen L S, Yang Y, Wei C L. 2007. Transport of the South China Sea subsurface water outflow and its influence on carbon chemistry of Kuroshio waters off southeastern Taiwan. J Geophys Res, 112: C12008

    Google Scholar 

  • Chou W C, Tishchenko P Y, Chuang K Y, Gong G C, Shkirnikova E M, Tishchenko P P. 2017. The contrasting behaviors of CO2 systems in river-dominated and ocean-dominated continental shelves: A case study in the East China Sea and the Peter the Great Bay of the Japan/East Sea in summer 2014. Mar Chem, 195: 50–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Ciais P, Sabine C, Bala G, Bopp L, Brovkin V, Canadell J, Chhabra A, DeFries R, Galloway J, Heimann M, Jones C, Le Quéré C, Myneni R B, Piao S, Thornton P. 2013. Carbon and other biogeochemical cycles. In: Stocker T F, Qin D, Planttner, G-K, Tignor M, Allen S K, Boschung J, Nauels A, Xia Y, Bex V, Midgley P M, eds. Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 465–570

    Google Scholar 

  • Copin-Montégut C, Bégovic M, Merlivat L. 2004. Variability of the partial pressure of CO2 on diel to annual time scales in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Mar Chem, 85: 169–189

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai A. 2016. Historical and future changes in streamflow and continental runoff: A review. In: Tang Q, Oki T, eds. Terrestrial Water Cycle and Climate Change: Natural and Human-Induced Impacts, Geophysical Monograph 221. AGU: John Wiley & Sons. 17–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai M, Yin Z. 2016. Marine carbon cycle. In: Chinese Academy of Sciences, ed. China Discipline Development Strategy: Marine Science (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press. 199–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai M, Cao Z, Guo X, Zhai W, Liu Z, Yin Z, Xu Y, Gan J, Hu J, Du C. 2013a. Why are some marginal seas sources of atmospheric CO2? Geophys Res Lett, 40: 2154–2158

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai M, Guo X, Zhai W, Yuan L, Wang B, Wang L, Cai P, Tang T, Cai W J. 2006. Oxygen depletion in the upper reach of the Pearl River estuary during a winter drought. Mar Chem, 102: 159–169

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai M, Meng F, Tang T, Kao S J, Lin J, Chen J, Huang-Chuan J, Tian J, Gan J, Yang S. 2009. Excess total organic carbon in the intermediate water of the South China Sea and its export to the North Pacific. Geochem Geophys Geosyst, 10: Q12002

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai M, Wang L, Guo X, Zhai W, Li Q, He B, Kao S J. 2008. Nitrification and inorganic nitrogen distribution in a large perturbed river/estuarine system: The Pearl River Estuary, China. Biogeosciences, 5: 1227–1244

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai M, Yin Z, Meng F, Liu Q, Cai W J. 2012. Spatial distribution of riverine DOC inputs to the ocean: an updated global synthesis. Curr Opin Env Sust, 4: 170–178

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai M, Zhai W, Lu Z, Cai P, Cai W J, Hong H. 2004. Regional studies of carbon cycles in China: Progress and perspectives (in Chinese). Adv Earth Sci, 19: 120–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai M, Zhai W, Xu Y, Li Q, Han A, Zheng N, Zheng N, Zhou K, Meng F, Lin H, Guo X, Wang X. 2013b. Marine Chemistry. In: Wang Y, Liu R, Su J, eds. China Marine Geography (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press. 194–244

    Google Scholar 

  • DeGrandpre M D, Olbu G J, Beatty C M, Hammar T R. 2002. Air-sea CO2 fluxes on the US Middle Atlantic Bight. Deep-Sea Res Part II-Top Stud Oceanogr, 49: 4355–4367

    Google Scholar 

  • Deng B, Zhang J, Wu Y. 2006. Recent sediment accumulation and carbon burial in the East China Sea. Glob Biogeochem Cycle, 20: GB3014

    Google Scholar 

  • De Vries T, Holzer M, Primeau F. 2017. Recent increase in oceanic carbon uptake driven by weaker upper-ocean overturning. Nature, 542: 215–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Doney S C. 2010. The growing human footprint on coastal and open-ocean biogeochemistry. Science, 328: 1512–1516

    Google Scholar 

  • Duan X, Wang X, Fei L, Ouyang Z. 2008. Primary evaluation of carbon sequestration potential of wetlands in China. Acta Ecol Sin, 28: 463–469

    Google Scholar 

  • Dugdale R C, Wilkerson F P. 1986. The use of 15N to measure nitrogen uptake in eutrophic oceans; experimental considerations. Limnol Oceanogr, 31: 673–689

    Google Scholar 

  • Elderfield H. 2002. Climate change: Carbonate mysteries. Science, 296: 1618–1621

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans W, Hales B, Strutton P G. 2011. Seasonal cycle of surface ocean pCO2 on the Oregon shelf. J Geophys Res, 116: C05012

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans W, Hales B, Strutton P G, Ianson D. 2012. Sea-air CO2 fluxes in the western Canadian coastal ocean. Prog Oceanogr, 101: 78–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Falkowski P, Scholes R J, Boyle E, Canadell J, Canfield D, Elser J, Gruber N, Hibbard K, Högberg P, Linder S, Mackenzie F T, Moore I I I B, Pedersen T, Rosenthal Y, Seitzinger S, Smetacek V, Steffen W. 2000. The global carbon cycle: A test of our knowledge of Earth as a system. Science, 290: 291–296

    Google Scholar 

  • Fransson A, Chierici M, Nojiri Y. 2006. Increased net CO2 outgassing in the upwelling region of the southern Bering Sea in a period of variable marine climate between 1995 and 2001. J Geophys Res, 111: C08008

    Google Scholar 

  • Friederich G E, Ledesma J, Ulloa O, Chavez F P. 2008. Air-sea carbon dioxide fluxes in the coastal southeastern tropical Pacific. Prog Oceanogr, 79: 156–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Friederich G E, Walz P M, Burczynski M G, Chavez F P. 2002. Inorganic carbon in the central California upwelling system during the 1997–1999 El Niño-La Niña event. Prog Oceanogr, 54: 185–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Gagan M K, Ayliffe L K, Opdyke B N, Hopley D, Scott-Gagan H, Cowley J. 2002. Coral oxygen isotope evidence for recent groundwater fluxes to the Australian Great Barrier Reef. Geophys Res Lett, 29: 43-1–43-4

    Google Scholar 

  • Gan J, Li H, Curchitser E N, Haidvogel D B. 2006. Modeling South China Sea circulation: Response to seasonal forcing regimes. J Geophys Res, 111: C06034

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao Z, Chen L, Sun H, Chen B, Cai W J. 2012. Distributions and air-sea fluxes of carbon dioxide in the Western Arctic Ocean. Deep-Sea Res Part II-Top Stud Oceanogr, 81–84: 46–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo X, Cai W J, Zhai W, Dai M, Wang Y, Chen B. 2008. Seasonal variations in the inorganic carbon system in the Pearl River (Zhujiang) estuary. Cont Shelf Res, 28: 1424–1434

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo X, Dai M, Zhai W, Cai W J, Chen B. 2009. CO2 flux and seasonal variability in a large subtropical estuarine system, the Pearl River Estuary, China. J Geophys Res, 114: G03013

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo H Q, Noormets A, Zhao B, Chen J Q, Sun G, Gu Y J, Li B, Chen J K. 2009. Tidal effects on net ecosystem exchange of carbon in an estuarine wetland. Agric For Meteorol, 149: 1820–1828

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo X H, Zhai W D, Dai M H, Zhang C, Bai Y, Xu Y, Li Q, Wang G Z. 2015. Air-sea CO2 fluxes in the East China Sea based on multiple-year underway observations. Biogeosciences, 12: 5495–5514

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo X, Zhang Y, Zhang F, Cao Q. 2010. Characteristics and flux of settling particulate matter in neritic waters: The southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. Deep-Sea Res Part II-Top Stud Oceanogr, 57: 1058–1063

    Google Scholar 

  • Hales B, Takahashi T, Bandstra L. 2005. Atmospheric CO2 uptake by a coastal upwelling system. Glob Biogeochem Cycle, 19: GB1009

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkinson C S, Cai W J, Hu X. 2012. Carbon sequestration in wetland dominated coastal systems—A global sink of rapidly diminishing magnitude. Curr Opin Env Sust, 4: 186–194

    Google Scholar 

  • Ho T Y, You C F, Chou W C, Pai S C, Wen L S, Sheu D D. 2009. Cadmium and phosphorus cycling in the water column of the South China Sea: The roles of biotic and abiotic particles. Mar Chem, 115: 125–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Hood E M, Merlivat L, Johannessen T. 1999. Variations of ƒCO2 and airsea flux of CO2 in the Greenland Sea gyre using high-frequency time series data from CARIOCA drift buoys. J Geophys Res, 104: 20571–20583

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu D, Yang Z. 2001. Key Processes of Ocean Fluxes in the East China Sea (in Chinese). Beijing: Ocean Press. 205

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang T H, Chen C T A, Tseng H C, Lou J Y, Wang S L, Yang L, Kandasamy S, Gao X, Wang J T, Aldrian E, Jacinto G S, Anshari G Z, Sompongchaiyakul P, Wang B J. 2017. Riverine carbon fluxes to the South China Sea. J Geophys Res, 122: 1239–1259

    Google Scholar 

  • Hung C C, Tseng C W, Gong G C, Chen K S, Chen M H, Hsu S C. 2013. Fluxes of particulate organic carbon in the East China Sea in summer. Biogeosciences, 10: 6469–6484

    Google Scholar 

  • Ito R G, Schneider B, Thomas H. 2005. Distribution of surface fCO2 and air-sea fluxes in the Southwestern subtropical Atlantic and adjacent continental shelf. J Mar Syst, 56: 227–242

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiao N Z, Herndl G J, Hansell D A, Benner R, Kattner G, Wilhelm S W, Kirchman D L, Weinauer M G, Luo T W, Chen F, Azam F. 2010. Microbial production of recalcitrant dissolved organic matter: Longterm carbon storage in the global ocean. Nat Rev Microbiol, 8: 593–599

    Google Scholar 

  • Kang D J, Kim J Y, Lee T, Kim K R. 2010. The East Sea (Sea of Japan). In: Liu K K, Atkinson L, Quiñones R, Talaue-Mamanus L, eds. Carbon and Nutrient Fluxes in Continental Margins: A global Synthesis. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. 383–393

    Google Scholar 

  • Laruelle G G, Dürr H H, Slomp C P, Borges A V. 2010. Evaluation of sinks and sources of CO2 in the global coastal ocean using a spatially-explicit typology of estuaries and continental shelves. Geophys Res Lett, 37: L15607

    Google Scholar 

  • Laruelle G G, Lauerwald R, Pfeil B, Regnier P. 2014. Regionalized global budget of the CO2 exchange at the air-water interface in continental shelf seas. Glob Biogeochem Cycle, 28: 1199–1214

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Quéré C, Andrew R M, Friedlingstein P, Sitch S, Pongratz J, Manning A C, Korsbakken J I, Peters G P, Canadell J G, Jackson R B, Boden T A, Tans P P, Andrews O D, Arora V K, Bakker D C E, Barbero L, Becker M, Betts R A, Bopp L, Chevallier F, Chini L P, Ciais P, Cosca C E, Cross J, Currie K, Gasser T, Harris I, Hauck J, Haverd V, Houghton R A, Hunt C W, Hurtt G, Ilyina T, Jain A K, Kato E, Kautz M, Keeling R F, Klein Goldewijk K, Körtzinger A, Landschützer P, Lefèvre N, Lenton A, Lienert S, Lima I, Lombardozzi D, Metzl N, Millero F, Monteiro P M S, Munro D R, Nabel J E M S, Nakaoka S, Nojiri Y, Padín X A, Peregon A, Pfeil B, Pierrot D, Poulter B, Rehder G, Reimer J, Rödenbeck C, Schwinger J, Séférian R, Skjelvan I, Stocker B D, Tian H, Tilbrook B, van der Laan-Luijkx I T, van der Werf G R, van Heuven S, Viovy N, Vuichard N, Walker A P, Watson A J, Wiltshire A J, Zaehle S, Zhu D. 2017. Global carbon budget 2017. Earth Syst Sci Data, 10: 405–448

    Google Scholar 

  • Li H, Wiesner M G, Chen J, Ling Z, Zhang J, Ran L. 2017. Long-term variation of mesopelagic biogenic flux in the central South China Sea: Impact of monsoonal seasonality and mesoscale eddy. Deep-Sea Res Part I-Oceanogr Res Pap, 126: 62–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Li L, Qu T D. 2006. Thermohaline circulation in the deep South China Sea basin inferred from oxygen distributions. J Geophys Res, 111: C05017

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu H, Ren H, Hui D, Wang W, Liao B, Cao Q. 2014. Carbon stocks and potential carbon storage in the mangrove forests of China. J Environ Manage, 133: 86–93

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu K K, Atkinson L, Quiñones R, Talaue-Mcmanus L. 2010a. Carbon and Nutrient Fluxes in Continental Margins: A Global Synthesis. Heidelberg: Springer. 741

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu K K, Atkinson L, Quiñones R, Talaue-Mcmanus L. 2010b. Biogeochemistry of the Kuroshio and the East China Sea. In: Liu K K, Atkinson L, Quiñ ones R, Talaue-Mcmanus L, eds. Carbon and Nutrient Fluxes in Continental Margins: A Global Synthesis. IGBP Book Series. Heidelberg: Springer. 3–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu K K, Chao S Y, Marra J, Snidvongs A. 2006. Monsoonal forcing and biogeochemical environments of outer southeast Asia seas. In: Robinson A, Brink K H, eds. The Sea: Ideas and Observations on Progress in the Study of Seas, the Global Coastal Ocean: Interdisciplinary Regional Studies and Synthesis. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 673–721

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu K K, Iseki K, Chao S Y. 2000. Continental margin carbon fluxes. In: Hanson R B, Ducklow H W, Field J G, eds. The Changing Ocean Carbon Cycle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 187–239

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu Q, Charette M A, Henderson P B, McCorkle D C, Martin W, Dai M. 2014. Effect of submarine groundwater discharge on the coastal ocean inorganic carbon cycle. Limnol Oceanogr, 59: 1529–1554

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu Q, Dai M, Chen W, Huh C A, Wang G, Li Q, Charette M A. 2012. How significant is submarine groundwater discharge and its associated dissolved inorganic carbon in a river-dominated shelf system? Biogeosciences, 9: 1777–1795

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu Z, Zhang L, Cai W J, Wang L, Xue M, Zhang X. 2014. Removal of dissolved inorganic carbon in the Yellow River Estuary. Limnol Oceanogr, 59: 413–426

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu X, Song J, Yuan H, Li N. 2015. Carbon distribution and exchange of Kuroshio and adjacent China sea shelf: A review (in Chinese). Adv Earth Sci, 30: 214–225

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo X, Wei H, Liu Z, Zhao L. 2015. Seasonal variability of air-sea CO2 fluxes in the Yellow and East China Seas: A case study of continental shelf sea carbon cycle model. Cont Shelf Res, 107: 69–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Maher D T, Santos I R, Golsby-Smith L, Gleeson J, Eyre B D. 2013. Groundwater-derived dissolved inorganic and organic carbon exports from a mangrove tidal creek: The missing mangrove carbon sink? Limnol Oceanogr, 58: 475–488

    Google Scholar 

  • McKee B A. 2003. RiOMar: The Transport, Transformation and Fate of Carbon in River-Dominated Ocean Margins. RiOMar Workshop. Tulane University

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore W S. 1999. The subterranean estuary: A reaction zone of ground water and sea water. Mar Chem, 65: 111–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakaoka S I, Aoki S, Nakazawa T, Hashida G, Morimoto S, Yamanouchi T, Yoshikawa-Inoue H. 2006. Temporal and spatial variations of oceanic pCO2 and air-sea CO2 flux in the Greenland Sea and the Barents Sea. Tellus Ser B-Chem Phys Meteorol, 58: 148–161

    Google Scholar 

  • Ni H G, Lu F H, Luo X L, Tian H Y, Zeng E Y. 2008. Riverine inputs of total organic carbon and suspended particulate matter from the Pearl River Delta to the coastal ocean off South China. Mar Pollut Bull, 56: 1150–1157

    Google Scholar 

  • Nozaki Y, Yamamoto Y. 2001. Radium 228 based nitrate fluxes in the eastern Indian Ocean and the South China Sea and a silicon-induced “alkalinity pump” hypothesis. Glob Biogeochem Cycle, 15: 555–567

    Google Scholar 

  • Oh D C, Park M K, Kim K R. 2000. CO2 exchange at air-sea interface in the Huanghai Sea. Acta Oceanol Sin, 19: 79–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Omar A M, Johannessen T, Olsen A, Kaltin S, Rey F. 2007. Seasonal and interannual variability of the air-sea CO2 flux in the Atlantic sector of the Barents Sea. Mar Chem, 104: 203–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Pan Y, Birdsey R A, Fang J, Houghton R, Kauppi P E, Kurz W A, Phillips O L, Shvidenko A, Lewis S L, Canadell J G, Ciais P, Jackson R B, Pacala S W, McGuire A D, Piao S, Rautiainen A, Sitch S, Hayes D. 2011. A large and persistent carbon sink in the world’s forests. Science, 333: 988–993

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng T H, Hung J J, Wanninkhof R, Millero F J. 1999. Carbon budget in the East China Sea in spring. Tellus Ser B-Chem Phys Meteorol, 51: 531–540

    Google Scholar 

  • Qu B X, Song J M, Yuan H M, Li X G, Li N. 2014. Air-sea CO2 exchange process in the southern Yellow Sea in April of 2011, and June, July, October of 2012. Cont Shelf Res, 80: 8–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Qu T, Girton J B, Whitehead J A. 2006. Deepwater overflow through Luzon strait. J Geophys Res, 111: C01002

    Google Scholar 

  • Ran L, Lu X X, Sun H, Han J, Li R, Zhang J. 2013. Spatial and seasonal variability of organic carbon transport in the Yellow River, China. J Hydrol, 498: 76–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Regnier P, Friedlingstein P, Ciais P, Mackenzie F T, Gruber N, Janssens I A, Laruelle G G, Lauerwald R, Luyssaert S, Andersson A J, Arndt S, Arnosti C, Borges A V, Dale A W, Gallego-Sala A, Goddéris Y, Goossens N, Hartmann J, Heinze C, Ilyina T, Joos F, LaRowe D E, Leifeld J, Meysman F J R, Munhoven G, Raymond P A, Spahni R, Suntharalingam P, Thullner M. 2013. Anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon fluxes from land to ocean. Nat Geosci, 6: 597–607

    Google Scholar 

  • Rehder G, Suess E. 2001. Methane and pCO2 in the Kuroshio and the South China Sea during maximum summer surface temperatures. Mar Chem, 75: 89–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabine C L, Feely R A, Gruber N, Key R M, Lee K, Bullister J L, Wanninkhof R, Wong C S, Wallace D W R, Tilbrook B, Millero F J, Peng T H, Kozyr A, Ono T, Rios A F. 2004. The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2. Science, 305: 367–371

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadat-Noori M, Maher D T, Santos I R. 2016. Groundwater discharge as a source of dissolved carbon and greenhouse gases in a subtropical estuary. Estuaries Coasts, 39: 639–656

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders C J, Maher D T, Tait D R, Williams D, Holloway C, Sippo J Z, Santos I R. 2016. Are global mangrove carbon stocks driven by rainfall? J Geophys Res, 121: 2600–2609

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos I R, Burnett W C, Dittmar T, Suryaputra I G N A, Chanton J. 2009. Tidal pumping drives nutrient and dissolved organic matter dynamics in a gulf of mexico subterranean estuary. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 73: 1325–1339

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarmiento J L, Gruber N. 2002. Sinks for anthropogenic carbon. Phys Today, 55: 30–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Semiletov I P, Pipko I I, Repina I, Shakhova N E. 2007. Carbonate chemistry dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes across the atmosphereice- water interfaces in the Arctic Ocean: Pacific sector of the Arctic. J Mar Syst, 66: 204–226

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheu D D, Chou W C, Chen C T A, Wei C L, Hsieh H L, Hou W P, Dai M. 2009. Riding over the Kuroshio from the South to the East China Sea: Mixing and transport of DIC. Geophys Res Lett, 36: L07603

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheu D D, Chou W C, Wei C L, Hou W P, Wong G T F, Hsu C W. 2010. Influence of El Niño on the sea-to-air CO2 flux at the SEATS timeseries site, northern South China Sea. J Geophys Res, 115: C10021

    Google Scholar 

  • Shim J H, Kim D, Kang Y C, Lee J H, Jang S T, Kim C H. 2007. Seasonal variations in pCO2 and its controlling factors in surface seawater of the northern East China Sea. Cont Shelf Res, 27: 2623–2636

    Google Scholar 

  • Sippo J Z, Maher D T, Tait D R, Ruiz-Halpern S, Sanders C J, Santos I R. 2017. Mangrove outwelling is a significant source of oceanic exchangeable organic carbon. Limnol Oceanogr, 2: 1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Skjelvan I, Johannessen T, Miller L A. 1999. Interannual variability of fCO2 in the Greenland and Norwegian Seas. Tellus Ser B-Chem Phys Meteorol, 51: 477–489

    Google Scholar 

  • Slagstad D, Downing K, Carlotti F, Hirche H J. 1999. Modelling the carbon export and air-sea flux of CO2 in the Greenland Sea. Deep-Sea Res Part II-Top Stud Oceanogr, 46: 1511–1530

    Google Scholar 

  • Søvik A K, Kløve B. 2007. Emission of N2O and CH4 from a constructed wetland in southeastern Norway. Sci Total Environ, 380: 28–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutula M A, Perez B C, Reyes E, Childers D L, Davis S, Day Jr. J W, Rudnick D, Sklar F. 2003. Factors affecting spatial and temporal variability in material exchange between the Southern Everglades wetlands and Florida Bay (USA). Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 57: 757–781

    Google Scholar 

  • State Oceanic Administration. 2013. China’s Marine Environment Bulletin in 2012 (in Chinese). 75–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi T, Sutherland S C, Wanninkhof R, Sweeney C, Feely R A, Chipman D W, Hales B, Friederich G, Chavez F, Sabine C, Watson A, Bakker D C E, Schuster U, Metzl N, Yoshikawa-Inoue H, Ishii M, Midorikawa T, Nojiri Y, Körtzinger A, Steinhoff T, Hoppema M, Olafsson J, Arnarson T S, Tilbrook B, Johannessen T, Olsen A, Bellerby R, Wong C S, Delille B, Bates N R, de Baar H J W. 2009. Climatological mean and decadal change in surface ocean pCO2, and net sea-air CO2 flux over the global oceans. Deep-Sea Res Part II-Top Stud Oceanogr, 56: 554–577

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas H, Schneider B. 1999. The seasonal cycle of carbon dioxide in Baltic Sea surface waters. J Mar Syst, 22: 53–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas H, Bozec Y, de Baar H J W, Elkalay K, Frankignoulle M, Schiettecatte L S, Kattner G, Borges A V. 2005. The carbon budget of the North Sea. Biogeosciences, 2: 87–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas H, Bozec Y, Elkalay K, de Baar H J W. 2004. Enhanced open ocean storage of CO2 from shelf sea pumping. Science, 304: 1005–1008

    Google Scholar 

  • Tian J W, Yang Q X, Liang X F, Xie L L, Hu D X, Wang F, Qu T D. 2006. Observation of Luzon Strait transport. Geophys Res Lett, 33: L19607

    Google Scholar 

  • Torres R, Turner D R, Rutllant J, Lefèvre N. 2003. Continued CO2 outgassing in an upwelling area off northern Chile during the development phase of El Niño 1997–1998 (July 1997). J Geophys Res, 108: 3336

    Google Scholar 

  • Torres R, Pantoja S, Harada N, González H E, Daneri G, Frangopulos M, Rutllant J A, Duarte C M, Rúiz-Halpern S, Mayol E, Fukasawa M. 2011. Air-sea CO2 fluxes along the coast of Chile: From CO2 outgassing in central northern upwelling waters to CO2 uptake in southern Patagonian fjords. J Geophys Res, 116: C09006

    Google Scholar 

  • Tseng C M, Liu K K, Gong G C, Shen P Y, Cai W J. 2011. CO2 uptake in the East China Sea relying on Changjiang runoff is prone to change. Geophys Res Lett, 38: L24609

    Google Scholar 

  • Tseng C M, Shen P Y, Liu K K. 2014. Synthesis of observed air-sea CO2 exchange fluxes in the river-dominated East China Sea and improved estimates of annual and seasonal net mean fluxes. Biogeosciences, 11: 3855–3870

    Google Scholar 

  • Tseng C M, Wong G T F, Chou W C, Lee B S, Sheu D D, Liu K K. 2007. Temporal variations in the carbonate system in the upper layer at the SEATS station. Deep-Sea Res Part II-Top Stud Oceanogr, 54: 1448–1468

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsunogai S, Watanabe S, Sato T. 1999. Is there a “continental shelf pump” for the absorption of atmospheric CO2? Tellus Ser B-Chem Phys Meteorol, 51: 701–712

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandemark D, Salisbury J E, Hunt C W, Shellito S M, Irish J D, McGillis W R, Sabine C L, Maenner S M. 2011. Temporal and spatial dynamics of CO2 air-sea flux in the Gulf of Maine. J Geophys Res, 116: C01012

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang G, Dai M, Shen S S P, Bai Y, Xu Y. 2014. Quantifying uncertainty sources in the gridded data of sea surface CO2 partial pressure. J Geophys Res, 119: 5181–5189

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang H, Dai M, Liu J, Kao S J, Zhang C, Cai W J, Wang G, Qian W, Zhao M, Sun Z. 2016. Eutrophication-driven hypoxia in the East China Sea off the Changjiang Estuary. Environ Sci Technol, 50: 2255–2263

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang G, Wang Z, Zhai W, Moore W S, Li Q, Yan X, Qi D, Jiang Y. 2015. Net subterranean estuarine export fluxes of dissolved inorganic C, N, P, Si, and total alkalinity into the Jiulong River estuary, China. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 149: 103–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang S L, Arthur Chen C T, Hong G H, Chung C S. 2000. Carbon dioxide and related parameters in the East China Sea. Cont Shelf Res, 20: 525–544

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Ma H, Li R, Song Z, Wu J. 2012. Seasonal fluxes and source variation of organic carbon transported by two major Chinese Rivers: The Yellow River and Changjiang (Yangtze) River. Glob Biogeochem Cycle, 26: GB2025

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei C L, Lin S Y, Sheu D D D, Chou W C, Yi M C, Santschi P H, Wen L S. 2011. Particle-reactive radionuclides (234Th, 210Pb, 210Po) as tracers for the estimation of export production in the South China Sea. Biogeosciences, 8: 3793–3808

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu K, Dai M, Chen J, Meng F, Li X, Liu Z, Du C, Gan J. 2015. Dissolved organic carbon in the South China Sea and its exchange with the Western Pacific Ocean. Deep-Sea Res Part II-Top Stud Oceanogr, 122: 41–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu Y, Zhang J, Liu S M, Zhang Z F, Yao Q Z, Hong G H, Cooper L. 2007. Sources and distribution of carbon within the Yangtze River system. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 71: 13–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Xia B, Zhang L. 2011. Carbon distribution and fluxes of 16 rivers discharging into the Bohai Sea in summer. Acta Oceanol Sin, 30: 43–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu X, Zang K, Zhao H, Zheng N, Huo C, Wang J. 2016. Monthly CO2 at A4HDYD station in a productive shallow marginal sea (Yellow Sea) with a seasonal thermocline: Controlling processes. J Mar Syst, 159: 89–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Xue L, Xue M, Zhang L, Sun T, Guo Z, Wang J. 2012. Surface partial pressure of CO2 and air-sea exchange in the northern Yellow Sea. J Mar Syst, 105–108: 194–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Xue L, Zhang L, Cai W J, Jiang L Q. 2011. Air-sea CO2 fluxes in the southern Yellow Sea: An examination of the continental shelf pump hypothesis. Cont Shelf Res, 31: 1904–1914

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang W F, Huang Y P, Chen M, Qiu Y S, Peng A G, Zhang L. 2009. Export and remineralization of POM in the Southern Ocean and the South China Sea estimated from 210Po/210Pb disequilibria. Chin Sci Bull, 54: 2118–2123

    Google Scholar 

  • Yin W, Qi Y, Cao Z, Zhang Y, Tang H. 2012. The environmental characteristics of the major Greenhouse gases and seawater pCO2 in the Bohai Sea (in Chinese). Trans Oceanol Limnol, 4: 189–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhai W D, Dai M. 2009. On the seasonal variation of air-sea CO2 fluxes in the outer Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary, East China Sea. Mar Chem, 117: 2–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhai W D, Dai M, Cai W J. 2009. Coupling of surface pCO2 and dissolved oxygen in the northern South China Sea: impacts of contrasting coastal processes. Biogeosciences, 6: 2589–2598

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhai W D, Dai M, Cai W J, Wang Y, Hong H. 2005. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide and air-sea fluxes in the northern South China Sea in spring, summer and autumn. Mar Chem, 96: 87–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhai W D, Dai M H, Chen B S, Guo X H, Li Q, Shang S L, Zhang C Y, Cai W J, Wang D X. 2013. Seasonal variations of sea-air CO2 fluxes in the largest tropical marginal sea (South China Sea) based on multiple-year underway measurements. Biogeosciences, 10: 7775–7791

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhai W D, Dai M, Guo X H. 2007. Carbonate system and CO2 degassing fluxes in the inner estuary of Changjiang (Yangtze) River, China. Mar Chem, 107: 342–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhai W D, Yan X L, Qi D. 2017. Biogeochemical generation of dissolved inorganic carbon and nitrogen in the North Branch of inner Changjiang Estuary in a dry season. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 197: 136–149

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang F, Liu A, Li Y, Zhao L, Wang Q, Du M. 2008. CO2 flux in alpine wetland ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. Acta Ecol Sin, 28: 453–462

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Zhang L. 2007. Phenomena of pH instant increasing and its effect on dissolved inorganic carbon flux to sea in Yellow River estuary (in Chinese). Environ Sci, 28: 1216–1222

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Zhang F, Guo X, Zhang M. 2004. Vertical flux of the settling particulate matter in the water column of the Yellow Sea in Summer (in Chinese). Oceanol Limnol Sin, 35: 230–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Zhang F, Guo X, Zhang M. 2005. Autumn vertical flux of settling particulate matter at three typical stations in the Yellow Sea (in Chinese). Geochimica, 34: 123–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou K. 2009. Preliminary research on the distribution, export and dynamics of particulate organic carbon in spring in Yellow Sea. Master Thesis (in Chinese). Xiamen: Xiamen University

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Zhiqiang Liu (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) for calculating the area of 38 estuaries and Yan Yang for references compiling. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 91328202 & 91428308), the Major Scientific Research Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant No. 2015CB954001), the Marine Public Welfare Project of the State Oceanic Administration (Grant No. 201505003-3), and the Global Change Program (Grant No. GASI-03-01-02-02).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Qian Liu, Xianghui Guo, Zhiqiang Yin, Kuanbo Zhou, Elliott Gareth Roberts & Minhan Dai

Authors
  1. Qian Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xianghui Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zhiqiang Yin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kuanbo Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Elliott Gareth Roberts
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Minhan Dai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Minhan Dai.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, Q., Guo, X., Yin, Z. et al. Carbon fluxes in the China Seas: An overview and perspective. Sci. China Earth Sci. 61, 1564–1582 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-017-9267-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-017-9267-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation