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1. PP12B-05 and CO2 14C - Constraints on the Deglacial Release of Geologic Carbon Using Atmospheric Records

   RYAN GREEN, MATHIS HAIN (January 2021, AGU Fall Meeting)

   While a reinvigoration of ocean circulation and CO 2 marine geologic carbon release over the last 20,000 years. Much of this evidence points to outgassing is the leading explanation for atmospheric CO rise since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), there is also evidence of regions of the mid-depth Pacific Ocean, where multiple radiocarbon (1 4 C) records show anomalously low 14 C/C values, potentially caused by the addition of carbon [1,2]. To better constrain this geologic carbon release hypothesis, we aim to place 14 C-free geologic an upper bound limit on the amount of carbon that may have been added, in addition to the geochemical pathway of that carbon. To do so, we numerical invert a carbon cycle model based on observational atmospheric CO 2 and 14 C records. Given these observational constraints, we use data assimilation techniques and an optimization algorithm to calculate the rate of carbon addition and its alkalinity-to-carbon ratio (R ) over the last 20,000 A/C years. Using the modeled planetary radiocarbon budget calculated in Hain et al. [3], we find observations allow for only ~300 Pg of carbon to be added, as a majority of the deglacial atmospheric 14 C decline is already explained by magnetic field strength changes and ocean circulation changes [3]. However, when we adjust the initial state of the model by increasing C by 75‰ to match the observational C records, we find that observations 14 14 allow for ~3500 Pg of carbon addition with an average R of ~1.4. A/C These results allow for the possibility of a large release of 14C-free geologic carbon, which could provide local and regional 14C anomalies, as the records have in the Pacific [1,2]. As this geological carbon was added with a RA/C of ~1.4, these results also imply that 14C evidence for significant geologic carbon release since the LGM may not be taken as contributing to deglacial CO2 rise, unless there is evidence for significant local acidification and corrosion of seafloor sediments. If the geologic carbon cycle is indeed more dynamic than previously thought, we may also need to rethink the approach to estimate the land/ocean carbon repartitioning from the deglacial stable carbon isotope budget. [1] Rafter et al. (2019), GRL 46(23), 13950–13960. [2] Ronge et al. (2016), Nature Communications 7(1), 11487. [3] Hain et al. (2014), EPSL 394, 198–208. 

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2. A uniform <i>p</i>CO₂ climatology combining open and coastal oceans

   https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2537-2020  

   Landschützer, Peter; Laruelle, Goulven G.; Roobaert, Alizee; Regnier, Pierre (January 2020, Earth System Science Data)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract. In this study, we present the first combined open- and coastal-ocean pCO2 mapped monthly climatology (Landschützer et al., 2020b, https://doi.org/10.25921/qb25-f418, https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/ocads/oceans/MPI-ULB-SOM_FFN_clim.html, last access: 8 April 2020) constructed from observations collected between 1998 and 2015 extracted from the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) database. We combine two neural network-based pCO2 products, one from the open ocean and the other from the coastal ocean, and investigate their consistency along their common overlap areas. While the difference between open- and coastal-ocean estimates along the overlap area increases with latitude, it remains close to 0 µatm globally. Stronger discrepancies, however, exist on the regional level resulting in differences that exceed 10 % of the climatological mean pCO2, or an order of magnitude larger than the uncertainty from state-of-the-art measurements. This also illustrates the potential of such an analysis to highlight where we lack a good representation of the aquatic continuum and future research should be dedicated. A regional analysis further shows that the seasonal carbon dynamics at the coast–open interface are well represented in our climatology. While our combined product is only a first step towards a true representation of both the open-ocean and the coastal-ocean air–sea CO2 flux in marine carbon budgets, we show it is a feasible task and the present data product already constitutes a valuable tool to investigate and quantify the dynamics of the air–sea CO2 exchange consistently for oceanic regions regardless of its distance to the coast. 

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3. Evaluating the Glacial-Deglacial Carbon Respiration and Ventilation Change Hypothesis as a Mechanism for Changing Atmospheric CO2

   Stott, Lowell Shao (January 2021, Geophysical research letters)

   null (Ed.)

   The prevailing hypothesis to explain pCO2 rise at the last glacial termination calls upon enhanced ventilation of excess respired carbon that accumulated in the deep sea during the glacial. Recent studies argue lower [O2] in the glacial ocean is indicative of increased carbon respiration. The magnitude of [O2] depletion was 100–140 μ mol/kg at the glacial maximum. Because respiration is coupled to δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), [O2] depletion of 100–140 μ mol/kg from carbon respiration would lower deep water δ13CDIC by ∼1‰ relative to surface water. Prolonged sequestration of respired carbon would also lower the amount of 14C in the deep sea. We show that Pacific Deep Water δ13CDIC did not decrease relative to the surface ocean and Δ14C was only ∼50‰ lower during the late glacial. Model simulations of the hypothesized ventilation change during deglaciation lead to large increases in δ13CDIC, Δ14C, and ε14C that are not recorded in observations. 

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4. Autonomous seawater <i>p</i>CO₂ and pH time series from 40 surface buoys and the emergence of anthropogenic trends

   https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-421-2019  

   Sutton, Adrienne J.; Feely, Richard A.; Maenner-Jones, Stacy; Musielwicz, Sylvia; Osborne, John; Dietrich, Colin; Monacci, Natalie; Cross, Jessica; Bott, Randy; Kozyr, Alex; et al (January 2019, Earth System Science Data)

   Abstract. Ship-based time series, some now approaching over 3 decades long, are critical climate records that have dramatically improved our ability to characterize natural and anthropogenic drivers of ocean carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake and biogeochemical processes. Advancements in autonomous marine carbon sensors and technologies over the last 2 decades have led to the expansion of observations at fixed time series sites, thereby improving the capability of characterizing sub-seasonal variability in the ocean. Here, we present a data product of 40 individual autonomous moored surface ocean pCO2 (partial pressure of CO2) time series established between 2004 and 2013, 17 also include autonomous pH measurements. These time series characterize a wide range of surface ocean carbonate conditions in different oceanic (17 sites), coastal (13 sites), and coral reef (10 sites) regimes. A time of trend emergence (ToE) methodology applied to the time series that exhibit well-constrained daily to interannual variability and an estimate of decadal variability indicates that the length of sustained observations necessary to detect statistically significant anthropogenic trends varies by marine environment. The ToE estimates for seawater pCO2 and pH range from 8 to 15 years at the open ocean sites, 16 to 41 years at the coastal sites, and 9 to 22 years at the coral reef sites. Only two open ocean pCO2 time series, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Hawaii Ocean Time-series Station (WHOTS) in the subtropical North Pacific and Stratus in the South Pacific gyre, have been deployed longer than the estimated trend detection time and, for these, deseasoned monthly means show estimated anthropogenic trends of 1.9±0.3 and 1.6±0.3 µatm yr−1, respectively. In the future, it is possible that updates to this product will allow for the estimation of anthropogenic trends at more sites; however, the product currently provides a valuable tool in an accessible format for evaluating climatology and natural variability of surface ocean carbonate chemistry in a variety of regions. Data are available at https://doi.org/10.7289/V5DB8043 and https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/ocads/oceans/Moorings/ndp097.html (Sutton et al., 2018). 

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5. Deglacial restructuring of the Eastern equatorial Pacific oxygen minimum zone

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00477-8  

   Davis, Catherine V. (June 2022, Communications Earth & Environment)

   Abstract Oxygenation in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific is responsive to ongoing climate change in the modern ocean, although whether the region saw a deglacial change in extent or position of the Oxygen Minimum Zone remains poorly constrained. Here, stable isotopes from the shells of an Oxygen Minimum Zone-dwelling planktic foraminifer are used to reassess the position of the mid-water Oxygen Minimum Zone relative to both the thermocline and benthos. Oxygen isotopes record a rapid shoaling of the Oxygen Minimum Zone towards the thermocline associated with Heinrich Stadial 1 and persisting through the deglaciation. Meanwhile, carbon isotope similarities between Oxygen Minimum Zone-dwellingGloborotaloides hexagonusand benthicCibicidoides wuellerstorfisuggest a shared source water through the deglaciation. Results support a direct role for the Eastern Equatorial Pacific in venting carbon to the atmosphere through the deglaciation, a deglacial expansion of the Oxygen Minimum Zone, and a restructuring of mid-water oxygen and carbon dynamics from the glacial to Holocene intervals. 

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