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Abstract The Chukchi Sea is an increasing CO2sink driven by rapid climate changes. Understanding the seasonal variation of air‐sea CO2exchange and the underlying mechanisms of biogeochemical dynamics is important for predicting impacts of climate change on and feedbacks by the ocean. Here, we present a unique data set of underway sea surface partial pressure of CO2(pCO2) and discrete samples of biogeochemical properties collected in five consecutive cruises in 2014 and examine the seasonal variations in air‐sea CO2flux and net community production (NCP). We found that thermal and non‐thermal effects have different impacts on sea surfacepCO2and thus the air‐sea CO2flux in different water masses. The Bering summer water combined with meltwater has a significantly greater atmospheric CO2uptake potential than that of the Alaskan Coastal Water in the southern Chukchi Sea in summer, due to stronger biological CO2removal and a weaker thermal effect. By analyzing the seasonal drawdown of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrients, we found that DIC‐based NCP was higher than nitrate‐based NCP by 66%–84% and attributable to partially decoupled C and N uptake because of a variable phytoplankton stoichiometry. A box model with a non‐Redfield C:N uptake ratio can adequately reproduce observedpCO2and DIC, which reveals that, during the intensive growing season (late spring to early summer), 30%–46% CO2uptake in the Chukchi Sea was supported by a flexible stoichiometry of phytoplankton. These findings have important ramification for forecasting the responses of CO2uptake of the Chukchi ecosystem to climate change.
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Modeling Phytoplankton Blooms and Inorganic Carbon Responses to Sea‐Ice Variability in the West Antarctic Peninsula
Abstract The ocean coastal‐shelf‐slope ecosystem west of the Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a biologically productive region that could potentially act as a large sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The duration of the sea‐ice season in the WAP shows large interannual variability. However, quantifying the mechanisms by which sea ice impacts biological productivity and surface dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) remains a challenge due to the lack of data early in the phytoplankton growth season. In this study, we implemented a circulation, sea‐ice, and biogeochemistry model (MITgcm‐REcoM2) to study the effect of sea ice on phytoplankton blooms and surface DIC. Results were compared with satellite sea‐ice and ocean color, and research ship surveys from the Palmer Long‐Term Ecological Research (LTER) program. The simulations suggest that the annual sea‐ice cycle has an important role in the seasonal DIC drawdown. In years of early sea‐ice retreat, there is a longer growth season leading to larger seasonally integrated net primary production (NPP). Part of the biological uptake of DIC by phytoplankton, however, is counteracted by increased oceanic uptake of atmospheric CO2. Despite lower seasonal NPP, years of late sea‐ice retreat show larger DIC drawdown, attributed to lower air‐sea CO2fluxes and increased dilution by sea‐ice melt. The role of dissolved iron and iron limitation on WAP phytoplankton also remains a challenge due to the lack of data. The model results suggest sediments and glacial meltwater are the main sources in the coastal and shelf regions, with sediments being more influential in the northern coast.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2026045
- PAR ID:
- 10452919
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
- Volume:
- 126
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2169-8953
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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