We
address an ongoing debate regarding the geographic distribution of interannual
variability in ocean - atmosphere carbon exchange. We find that, for 1983-1998,
both novel high-resolution atmospheric inversion calculations and global ocean
biogeochemical models place the primary source of global CO2 air-sea
flux variability in the Pacific Ocean. In ocean biogeochemical models, this
variability is clearly associated with the El Niño / Southern Oscillation
cycle. Both inversion and models indicate that the Southern Ocean is the
second-largest source of air-sea CO2 flux variability, and that
variability is small throughout the Atlantic, including the North Atlantic, in
contrast to previous studies.
Author: G.A. McKinley, C. Rödenbeck, M. Gloor, et al (galen at aos dot wisc dot edu)
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