New insights into the variability of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the surface water along the Northwest Passage, using automated high-frequency instrumentation onboard the icebreaker Oden, summer 2005

• In summer 2005, continuous measurements of pCO2 and dissolved oxygen in the surface water were successfully carried out onboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden. Seawater was pumped on-line from the ship’s seawater intake, placed in the bow at a depth of about 8 meters, to an automated pCO2 system and an oxygen sensor. The IB Oden journeyed through the Northwest Passage from Cape Farwell (S. Greenland) to the Bering Strait, and encountered both open water and heavy sea-ice conditions. Using 1-minute readings of pCO2 and oxygen, in addition to sea surface salinity and temperature as well as pCO2 in the air, we gained insight into the magnitude of the spatial variability in these parameters along the cruise track. In shelf seas in high-latitude regions, biogeochemical processes, which affect the carbon dioxide system, are highly dependent on the seasonality in formation and melting of sea ice as well as river runoff. In our study, preliminary data showed rapid changes in the pCO2 and oxygen values, likely related to physical fronts and changing sea-ice conditions. Surface water pCO2 was generally below the atmospheric level in ice-covered areas while in areas with no sea ice the pCO2 was close to or in equilibrium with the atmospheric pCO2. To our knowledge, this is the first underway pCO2 measurements performed in tough sea-ice conditions in the Arctic Ocean.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Meteorologi och atmosfärforskning (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi -- Analytisk kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences -- Analytical Chemistry (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

carbon cycle

high-frequency measurements

ice cover

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