In:
Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, The Royal Society, Vol. 476, No. 2234 ( 2020-02), p. 20190763-
Abstract:
For decades, the effect of surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer (SML) on gas
transfer velocity ( k ) has been recognized; however, it has not
been quantified under natural conditions due to missing coherent data on in situ k of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and
characterization of the SML. Moreover, a sea-surface phenomenon of wave-dampening, known as slicks, has been observed frequently in the ocean and
potentially reduces the transfer of climate-relevant gases between the ocean and atmosphere. Therefore, this study aims to quantify the effect of natural
surfactant and slicks on the in situ k of CO 2 . A
catamaran, Sea Surface Scanner (S 3 ), was deployed to sample the SML
and corresponding underlying water, and a drifting buoy with a floating chamber was deployed to measure the in situ k of CO 2 . We
found a significant 23% reduction of k above surfactant
concentrations of 200 µg Teq l −1 ,
which were common in the SML except for the Western Pacific. We conclude that an error of approximately 20% in CO 2 fluxes for the Western
Pacific is induced by applying wind-based parametrization not developed in low surfactant regimes. Furthermore, we observed an additional 62% reduction
in natural slicks, reducing global CO 2 fluxes by 19%
considering known frequency of slick coverage. From our observation, we identified surfactant concentrations with two different end-members which lead
to an error in global CO 2 flux estimation if ignored.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1364-5021
,
1471-2946
DOI:
10.1098/rspa.2019.0763
Language:
English
Publisher:
The Royal Society
Publication Date:
2020
detail.hit.zdb_id:
209241-4
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1460987-3
SSG:
11
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