Sea-ice melt CO2-carbonate chemistry in the western Arctic Ocean: meltwater contributions to air-sea CO2 gas exchange, mixed layer properties and rates of net community production under sea ice

Bates, N.R., Garley, R., Frey, K.E., Shake, K.L. and Mathis, J.T. (2014) Sea-ice melt CO2-carbonate chemistry in the western Arctic Ocean: meltwater contributions to air-sea CO2 gas exchange, mixed layer properties and rates of net community production under sea ice. Biogeosciences, 11 (1), 1097-1145. (doi:10.5194/bgd-11-1097-2014).

Abstract

The carbon dioxide (CO2)-carbonate chemistry of sea-ice melt and co-located, contemporaneous seawater has rarely been studied in sea ice covered oceans. Here, we describe the CO2-carbonate chemistry of sea-ice melt (both above sea ice as "melt ponds" and below sea ice as "interface waters") and mixed layer properties in the western Arctic Ocean in the early summer of 2010 and 2011. At nineteen stations, the salinity (~ 0.5 to < 6.5), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC; ~ 20 to < 550 ?mol kg–1) and total alkalinity (TA; ~ 30 to < 500 ?mol kg–1) of above-ice melt pond water was low compared to water in the underlying mixed layer. The partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in these melt ponds was highly variable (~ < 10 to > 1500 ?atm) with the majority of melt ponds acting as potentially strong sources of CO2 to the atmosphere. The pH of melt pond waters was also highly variable ranging from mildly acidic (6.1 to 7) to slightly more alkaline than underlying seawater (8 to 10.7). All of observed melt ponds had very low (< 0.1) saturation states (?) for calcium carbonate (CaCO3) minerals such as aragonite (?aragonite). Our data suggests that sea ice generated "alkaline" or "acidic" melt pond water. This melt-water chemistry dictates whether the ponds are sources of CO2 to the atmosphere or CO2 sinks. Below-ice interface water CO2-carbonate chemistry data also indicated substantial generation of alkalinity, presumably owing to dissolution of calcium CaCO3 in sea ice. The interface waters generally had lower pCO2 and higher pH/?aragonite than the co-located mixed layer beneath. Sea-ice melt thus contributed to the suppression of mixed layer pCO2 enhancing the surface ocean's capacity to uptake CO2 from the atmosphere. Meltwater contributions to changes in mixed–layer DIC were also used to estimate net community production rates (mean of 46.9 ±29.8 g C m–2 for the early-season period) under sea-ice cover. Although sea-ice melt is a transient seasonal feature, above-ice melt pond coverage can be substantial (10 to > 50%) and under-ice interface melt water is ubiquitous during this spring/summer sea-ice retreat. Our observations contribute to growing evidence that sea-ice CO2-carbonate chemistry is highly variable and its contribution to the complex factors that influence the balance of CO2 sinks and sources (and thereby ocean acidification) is difficult to predict in an era of rapid warming and sea ice loss in the Arctic Ocean.

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