Decadal variation of the surface water PCO^sub 2^ in the western and central equatorial Pacific

The equatorial Pacific Ocean is one of the most important yet highly variable oceanic source areas for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Here, we used the partial pressure of CO2 (PCO^sub 2^), measured in surface waters from 1979 through early 2001, to examine the effect on the equatorial Pacific CO...

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Published inScience (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 302; no. 5646; p. 852
Main Authors Takahashi, Taro, Sutherland, Stewart C, Feely, Richard A, Cosca, Catherine E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington The American Association for the Advancement of Science 31.10.2003
Subjects
Atmosphere
Carbon dioxide
Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Pacific Ocean
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Summary:The equatorial Pacific Ocean is one of the most important yet highly variable oceanic source areas for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Here, we used the partial pressure of CO2 (PCO^sub 2^), measured in surface waters from 1979 through early 2001, to examine the effect on the equatorial Pacific CO2 chemistry of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation phase shift, which occurred around 1988 to 1992. During the decade before the shift, the surface water PCO^sub 2^ (corrected for temperature changes and atmospheric CO2 uptake) in the central and western equatorial Pacific decreased at a mean rate of about -20 [mu]atm per decade, whereas after the shift, it increased at about +15 [mu]atm per decade. These changes altered the CO2 sink and source flux of the equatorial Pacific significantly. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203