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Recent work suggests that Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs) are sustained by the supply of oxygen‐poor waters rather than the export of organic matter from the local surface layer and its subsequent remineralization inside OMZs. However, the mechanisms that form and maintain OMZs are not well constrained, such as the origin of the oxygen that oxygenates OMZs, and the locations where oxygen consumption occurs. Here we use an observation‐based transport matrix to determine the origins of open ocean OMZs in terms of (a) OMZ volume, (b) oxygen that survives remineralization and oxygenates OMZs, and (c) oxygen utilization in the interior ocean that contributes to the oxygen‐deficit of OMZs. We also determine where the utilization of oxygen occurs along the pathways that ventilate the OMZs. Our results show that about half of the volume of OMZ waters originate in high‐latitude regions, but most of their oxygen is utilized for remineralization before they reach OMZs. Instead, OMZs are mostly oxygenated by tropical, subtropical and intermediate waters formed in nearby regions. More than half of the utilization of oxygen occurs in the tropics and subtropics, while less than a third occurs within the OMZs themselves. We therefore suggest that, in steady‐state, OMZs are primarily set by ocean circulation pathways that high‐latitude deep and old water upwards, with relatively low oxygen content.

 

Effective data management plays a key role in oceanographic research as cruise-based data, collected from different laboratories and expeditions, are commonly compiled to investigate regional to global oceanographic processes. Here we describe new and updated best practice data standards for discrete chemical oceanographic observations, specifically those dealing with column header abbreviations, quality control flags, missing value indicators, and standardized calculation of certain properties. These data standards have been developed with the goals of improving the current practices of the scientific community and promoting their international usage. These guidelines are intended to standardize data files for data sharing and submission into permanent archives. They will facilitate future quality control and synthesis efforts and lead to better data interpretation. In turn, this will promote research in ocean biogeochemistry, such as studies of carbon cycling and ocean acidification, on regional to global scales. These best practice standards are not mandatory. Agencies, institutes, universities, or research vessels can continue using different data standards if it is important for them to maintain historical consistency. However, it is hoped that they will be adopted as widely as possible to facilitate consistency and to achieve the goals stated above. 

In this paper, we outline the need for a coordinated international effort toward the building of an open-access Global Ocean Oxygen Database and ATlas (GO 2 DAT) complying with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). GO 2 DAT will combine data from the coastal and open ocean, as measured by the chemical Winkler titration method or by sensors (e.g., optodes, electrodes) from Eulerian and Lagrangian platforms (e.g., ships, moorings, profiling floats, gliders, ships of opportunities, marine mammals, cabled observatories). GO 2 DAT will further adopt a community-agreed, fully documented metadata format and a consistent quality control (QC) procedure and quality flagging (QF) system. GO 2 DAT will serve to support the development of advanced data analysis and biogeochemical models for improving our mapping, understanding and forecasting capabilities for ocean O 2 changes and deoxygenation trends. It will offer the opportunity to develop quality-controlled data synthesis products with unprecedented spatial (vertical and horizontal) and temporal (sub-seasonal to multi-decadal) resolution. These products will support model assessment, improvement and evaluation as well as the development of climate and ocean health indicators. They will further support the decision-making processes associated with the emerging blue economy, the conservation of marine resources and their associated ecosystem services and the development of management tools required by a diverse community of users (e.g., environmental agencies, aquaculture, and fishing sectors). A better knowledge base of the spatial and temporal variations of marine O 2 will improve our understanding of the ocean O 2 budget, and allow better quantification of the Earth’s carbon and heat budgets. With the ever-increasing need to protect and sustainably manage ocean services, GO 2 DAT will allow scientists to fully harness the increasing volumes of O 2 data already delivered by the expanding global ocean observing system and enable smooth incorporation of much higher quantities of data from autonomous platforms in the open ocean and coastal areas into comprehensive data products in the years to come. This paper aims at engaging the community (e.g., scientists, data managers, policy makers, service users) toward the development of GO 2 DAT within the framework of the UN Global Ocean Oxygen Decade (GOOD) program recently endorsed by IOC-UNESCO. A roadmap toward GO 2 DAT is proposed highlighting the efforts needed (e.g., in terms of human resources). 

Abstract. The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) is asynthesis effort providing regular compilations of surface-to-bottom oceanbiogeochemical data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon chemistryand related variables determined through chemical analysis of seawatersamples. GLODAPv2.2020 is an update of the previous version, GLODAPv2.2019.The major changes are data from 106 new cruises added, extension of timecoverage to 2019, and the inclusion of available (also for historicalcruises) discrete fugacity of CO2 (fCO2) values in the mergedproduct files. GLODAPv2.2020 now includes measurements from more than 1.2 million water samples from the global oceans collected on 946 cruises. Thedata for the 12 GLODAP core variables (salinity, oxygen, nitrate, silicate,phosphate, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, pH, CFC-11, CFC-12,CFC-113, and CCl4) have undergone extensive quality control with afocus on systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available in twoformats: (i) as submitted by the data originator but updated to WOCEexchange format and (ii) as a merged data product with adjustments appliedto minimize bias. These adjustments were derived by comparing the data fromthe 106 new cruises with the data from the 840 quality-controlled cruises ofthe GLODAPv2.2019 data product using crossover analysis. Comparisons toempirical algorithm estimates provided additional context for adjustmentdecisions; this is new to this version. The adjustments are intended toremove potential biases from errors related to measurement, calibration, anddata-handling practices without removing known or likely time trends orvariations in the variables evaluated. The compiled and adjusted dataproduct is believed to be consistent to better than 0.005 in salinity, 1 % in oxygen, 2 % in nitrate, 2 % in silicate, 2 % in phosphate,4 µmol kg−1 in dissolved inorganic carbon, 4 µmol kg−1in total alkalinity, 0.01–0.02 in pH (depending on region), and 5 % inthe halogenated transient tracers. The other variables included in thecompilation, such as isotopic tracers and discrete fCO2, were notsubjected to bias comparison or adjustments. The original data and their documentation and DOI codes are available at theOcean Carbon Data System of NOAA NCEI(https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/ocads/oceans/GLODAPv2_2020/, lastaccess: 20 June 2020). This site also provides access to the merged dataproduct, which is provided as a single global file and as four regional ones– the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans –under https://doi.org/10.25921/2c8h-sa89 (Olsen et al., 2020). Thesebias-adjusted product files also include significant ancillary andapproximated data. These were obtained by interpolation of, or calculationfrom, measured data. This living data update documents the GLODAPv2.2020methods and provides a broad overview of the secondary quality controlprocedures and results. 

Abstract. Accurate assessment of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions andtheir redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biospherein a changing climate is critical to better understand the global carboncycle, support the development of climate policies, and project futureclimate change. Here we describe and synthesize datasets and methodology toquantify the five major components of the global carbon budget and theiruncertainties. Fossil CO2 emissions (EFOS) are based on energystatistics and cement production data, while emissions from land-use change(ELUC), mainly deforestation, are based on land use and land-use changedata and bookkeeping models. Atmospheric CO2 concentration is measureddirectly, and its growth rate (GATM) is computed from the annualchanges in concentration. The ocean CO2 sink (SOCEAN) is estimatedwith global ocean biogeochemistry models and observation-baseddata products. The terrestrial CO2 sink (SLAND) is estimated withdynamic global vegetation models. The resulting carbon budget imbalance(BIM), the difference between the estimated total emissions and theestimated changes in the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere, is ameasure of imperfect data and understanding of the contemporary carboncycle. All uncertainties are reported as ±1σ. For the firsttime, an approach is shown to reconcile the difference in our ELUCestimate with the one from national greenhouse gas inventories, supportingthe assessment of collective countries' climate progress. For the year 2020, EFOS declined by 5.4 % relative to 2019, withfossil emissions at 9.5 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1 (9.3 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1 when the cement carbonation sink is included), and ELUC was 0.9 ± 0.7 GtC yr−1, for a total anthropogenic CO2 emission of10.2 ± 0.8 GtC yr−1 (37.4 ± 2.9 GtCO2). Also, for2020, GATM was 5.0 ± 0.2 GtC yr−1 (2.4 ± 0.1 ppm yr−1), SOCEAN was 3.0 ± 0.4 GtC yr−1, and SLANDwas 2.9 ± 1 GtC yr−1, with a BIM of −0.8 GtC yr−1. Theglobal atmospheric CO2 concentration averaged over 2020 reached 412.45 ± 0.1 ppm. Preliminary data for 2021 suggest a rebound in EFOSrelative to 2020 of +4.8 % (4.2 % to 5.4 %) globally. Overall, the mean and trend in the components of the global carbon budgetare consistently estimated over the period 1959–2020, but discrepancies ofup to 1 GtC yr−1 persist for the representation of annual tosemi-decadal variability in CO2 fluxes. Comparison of estimates frommultiple approaches and observations shows (1) a persistent largeuncertainty in the estimate of land-use changes emissions, (2) a lowagreement between the different methods on the magnitude of the landCO2 flux in the northern extra-tropics, and (3) a discrepancy betweenthe different methods on the strength of the ocean sink over the lastdecade. This living data update documents changes in the methods and datasets used in this new global carbon budget and the progress in understandingof the global carbon cycle compared with previous publications of this dataset (Friedlingstein et al., 2020, 2019; LeQuéré et al., 2018b, a, 2016, 2015b, a, 2014, 2013). Thedata presented in this work are available at https://doi.org/10.18160/gcp-2021 (Friedlingstein et al., 2021). 

Abstract. The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) is asynthesis effort providing regular compilations of surface to bottom oceanbiogeochemical data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon chemistryand related variables determined through chemical analysis of water samples.This update of GLODAPv2, v2.2019, adds data from 116 cruises to the previousversion, extending its coverage in time from 2013 to 2017, while also addingsome data from prior years. GLODAPv2.2019 includes measurements from morethan 1.1 million water samples from the global oceans collected on 840cruises. The data for the 12 GLODAP core variables (salinity, oxygen,nitrate, silicate, phosphate, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity,pH, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, and CCl4) have undergone extensive qualitycontrol, especially systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available intwo formats: (i) as submitted by the data originator but updated to WOCEexchange format and (ii) as a merged data product with adjustments appliedto minimize bias. These adjustments were derived by comparing the data fromthe 116 new cruises with the data from the 724 quality-controlled cruises ofthe GLODAPv2 data product. They correct for errors related to measurement,calibration, and data handling practices, taking into account any known orlikely time trends or variations. The compiled and adjusted data product isbelieved to be consistent to better than 0.005 in salinity, 1 % in oxygen,2 % in nitrate, 2 % in silicate, 2 % in phosphate, 4 µmol kg−1 in dissolved inorganic carbon, 4 µmol kg−1 in totalalkalinity, 0.01–0.02 in pH, and 5 % in the halogenated transienttracers. The compilation also includes data for several other variables,such as isotopic tracers. These were not subjected to bias comparison oradjustments. The original data, their documentation and DOI codes are available in theOcean Carbon Data System of NOAA NCEI(https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/ocads/oceans/GLODAPv2_2019/, last access: 17 September 2019). Thissite also provides access to the merged data product, which is provided as asingle global file and as four regional ones – the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian,and Pacific oceans – under https://doi.org/10.25921/xnme-wr20(Olsen et al., 2019). Theproduct files also include significant ancillary and approximated data.These were obtained by interpolation of, or calculation from, measured data.This paper documents the GLODAPv2.2019 methods and provides a broad overviewof the secondary quality control procedures and results.