Adrienne Sutton

Natural variability and anthropogenic change in equatorial Pacific surface ocean pCO2 and pH

The equatorial Pacific is a dynamic region that plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. This region is the largest oceanic source of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere, which varies interannually dependent on the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and other climatic and oceanic drivers. We present high-resolution observations of surface ocean CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) at four fixed locations in the Nino 3.4 area with data sets encompassing 10 ENSO warm and cold events from 1997 to 2011. The mooring observations confirm that ENSO controls much of the interannual variability in surface seawater pCO2 with values ranging from 315 to 578 µatm. The mooring time series also capture the temporal variability necessary to make the first estimates of long-term pH trends in the equatorial Pacific, which suggests that the combination of ocean acidification and decadal variability creates conditions for high rates of pH change since the beginning of the mooring record. Anthropogenic CO2 increases play a dominant role in significant observed seawater pCO2 trends of +2.3 to +3.3 µatm yr−1 and pH trends of −0.0018 to −0.0026 yr−1 across the full time series in this region. However, increased upwelling driven by increased trade winds, a shallower thermocline, and increased frequency of La Nina events also contribute an average of 40% of the observed trends since 1998. These trends are higher than previous estimates based on underway observations and suggest that the equatorial Pacific is contributing a greater amount of CO2 to the atmospheric CO2 inventory over the last decade.

Seasonality of biological and physical controls on surface ocean CO2 from hourly observations at the Southern Ocean Time Series site south of Australia

The Subantarctic Zone (SAZ), which covers the northern half of the Southern Ocean between the Subtropical and Subantarctic Fronts, is important for air-sea CO 2 exchange, ventilation of the lower thermocline, and nutrient supply for global ocean productivity. Here we present the first high-resolution autonomous observations of mixed layer CO 2 partial pressure ( p CO 2 ) and hydrographic properties covering a full annual cycle in the SAZ. The amplitude of the seasonal cycle in p CO 2 (∼60 μatm), from near-atmospheric equilibrium in late winter to ∼330 μatm in midsummer, results from opposing physical and biological drivers. Decomposing these contributions demonstrates that the biological control on p CO 2 (up to 100 μatm), is 4 times larger than the thermal component and driven by annual net community production of 2.45 ± 1.47 mol C m −2  yr −1 . After the summer biological p CO 2 depletion, the return to near-atmospheric equilibrium proceeds slowly, driven in part by autumn entrainment into a deepening mixed layer and achieving full equilibration in late winter and early spring as respiration and advection complete the annual cycle. The shutdown of winter convection and associated mixed layer shoaling proceeds intermittently, appearing to frustrate the initiation of production. Horizontal processes, identified from salinity anomalies, are associated with biological p CO 2 signatures but with differing impacts in winter (when they reflect far-field variations in dissolved inorganic carbon and/or biomass) and summer (when they suggest promotion of local production by the relief of silicic acid or iron limitation). These results provide clarity on SAZ seasonal carbon cycling and demonstrate that the magnitude of the seasonal p CO 2 cycle is twice as large as that in the subarctic high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll waters, which can inform the selection of optimal global models in this region.

Comparing Chemistry and Census-Based Estimates of Net Ecosystem Calcification on a Rim Reef in Bermuda

Coral reef net ecosystem calcification (NEC) has decreased for many Caribbean reefs over recent decades primarily due to a combination of declining coral cover and changing benthic community composition. Chemistry-based approaches to calculate NEC utilize the drawdown of seawater total alkalinity (TA) combined with residence time to calculate an instantaneous measurement of NEC. Census-based approaches combine annual growth rates with benthic cover and reef structural complexity to estimate NEC occurring over annual timescales. Here, NEC was calculated for Hog Reef in Bermuda using both chemistry and census-based NEC techniques to compare the mass-balance generated by the two methods and identify the dominant biocalcifiers at Hog Reef. Our findings indicate close agreement between the annual 2011 census-based NEC 2.35±1.01 kg CaCO3•m-2•y-1 and the chemistry-based NEC 2.23±1.02 kg CaCO3•m-2•y-1 at Hog Reef. An additional record of Hog Reef TA data calculated from an autonomous CO2 mooring measuring pCO2 and modeled pHtotal every 3-hours highlights the dynamic temporal variability in coral reef NEC. This ability for chemistry-based NEC techniques to capture higher frequency variability in coral reef NEC allows the mechanisms driving NEC variability to be explored and tested. Just four coral species, Diploria labyrinthiformis, Pseudodiploria strigosa, Millepora alcicornis, and Orbicella franksi, were identified by the census-based NEC as contributing to 94±19% of the total calcium carbonate production at Hog Reef suggesting these species should be highlighted for conservation to preserve current calcium carbonate production rates at Hog Reef. As coral cover continues to decline globally, the agreement between these NEC estimates suggest that either method, but ideally both methods, may serve as a useful tool for coral reef managers and conservation scientists to monitor the maintenance of coral reef structure and ecosystem services.

Mixed‐layer carbon cycling at the Kuroshio Extension Observatory

Seven years of data from the NOAA Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO) surface mooring, located in the North Pacific Ocean carbon sink region, were used to evaluate drivers of mixed-layer carbon cycling. A time-dependent mass balance approach relying on two carbon tracers was used to diagnostically evaluate how surface ocean processes influence mixed-layer carbon concentrations over the annual cycle. Results indicate that the annual physical carbon input is predominantly balanced by biological carbon uptake during the intense spring bloom. Net annual gas exchange that adds carbon to the mixed layer and the opposing influence of net precipitation that dilutes carbon concentrations make up smaller contributions to the annual mixed-layer carbon budget. Decomposing the biological term into annual net community production (aNCP) and calcium carbonate production (aCaCO3) yields 7 ± 3 mol C m−2 yr−1 aNCP and 0.5 ± 0.3 mol C m−2 yr−1 aCaCO3, giving an annually integrated particulate inorganic carbon to particulate organic carbon production ratio of 0.07 ± 0.05, as a lower limit. Although we find that vertical physical processes dominate carbon input to the mixed layer at KEO, it remains unclear how horizontal features, such as eddies, influence carbon production and export by altering nutrient supply as well as the depth of winter ventilation. Further research evaluating linkages between Kuroshio Extension jet instabilities, eddy activity, and nutrient supply mechanisms is needed to adequately characterize the drivers and sensitivities of carbon cycling near KEO.

Variability and trends in surface seawater pCO2 and CO2 flux in the Pacific Ocean

Variability and change in the ocean sink of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) have implications for future climate and ocean acidification. Measurements of surface seawater CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) and wind speed from moored platforms are used to calculate high-resolution CO2 flux time series. Here we use the moored CO2 fluxes to examine variability and its drivers over a range of time scales at four locations in the Pacific Ocean. There are significant surface seawater pCO2, salinity, and wind speed trends in the North Pacific subtropical gyre, especially during winter and spring, which reduce CO2 uptake over the 10-year record of this study. Starting in late 2013, elevated seawater pCO2 values driven by warm anomalies cause this region to be a net annual CO2 source for the first time in the observational record, demonstrating how climate forcing can influence the timing of an ocean region shift from CO2 sink to source.

Seasonal Carbonate Chemistry Variability in Marine Surface Waters of the Pacific Northwest

Fingerprinting ocean acidification (OA) in US West Coast waters is extremely challenging due to the large magnitude of natural carbonate chemistry variations common to these regions. Additionally, quantifying a change requires information about the initial conditions, which is not readily available in most coastal systems. In an effort to address this issue, we have collated high-quality publicly available data to characterize the modern seasonal carbonate chemistry variability in marine surface waters of the US Pacific Northwest. Underway ship data from version 4 of the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas, discrete observations from various sampling platforms, and sustained measurements from regional moorings were incorporated to provide ∼ 100 000 inorganic carbon observations from which modern seasonal cycles were estimated. Underway ship and discrete observations were merged and gridded to a 0.1× 0.1 scale. Eight unique regions were identified and seasonal cycles from grid cells within each region were averaged. Data from nine surface moorings were also compiled and used to develop robust estimates of mean seasonal cycles for comparison with the eight regions. This manuscript describes our methodology and the resulting mean seasonal cycles for multiple OA metrics in an effort to provide a largescale environmental context for ongoing research, adaptation, and management efforts throughout the US Pacific Northwest. Major findings include the identification of unique chemical characteristics across the study domain. There is a clear increase in the ratio of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) to total alkalinity (TA) and in the seasonal cycle amplitude of carbonate system parameters when moving from the open ocean North Pacific into the Salish Sea. Due to the logarithmic nature of the pH scale (pH=−log10[H], where [H] is the hydrogen ion concentration), lower annual mean pH values (associated with elevated DIC :TA ratios) coupled with larger magnitude seasonal pH cycles results in seasonal [H] ranges that are ∼ 27 times larger in Hood Canal than in the neighboring North Pacific open ocean. Organisms living in the Salish Sea are thus exposed to much larger seasonal acidity changes than those living in nearby open ocean waters. Additionally, our findings suggest that lower buffering capacities in the Salish Sea make these waters less efficient at absorbing anthropogenic carbon than open ocean waters at the same latitude. All data used in this analysis are publically available at the following websites: – Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas version 4 coastal data, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA. 866856 (Bakker et al., 2016a); – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) West Coast Ocean Acidification cruise data, https://doi.org/10.3334/CDIAC/otg.CLIVAR_NACP_West_Coast_Cruise_2007 (Feely and Sabine, 2013); https://doi.org/10.7289/V5JQ0XZ1 (Feely et al., 2015b); Published by Copernicus Publications. 1368 A. J. Fassbender et al.: Seasonal carbonate chemistry variability in marine surface waters https://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0157445 (Feely et al., 2016a); https://doi.org/10.7289/V5C53HXP (Feely et al., 2015a); – University of Washington (UW) and Washington Ocean Acidification Center cruise data, https://doi.org/10. 5281/zenodo.1184657 (Fassbender et al., 2018); – Washington State Department of Ecology seaplane data, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1184657 (Fassbender et al., 2018); – NOAA Moored Autonomous pCO2 (MAPCO2) buoy data, https://doi.org/10.3334/CDIAC/OTG.TSM_ LAPUSH_125W_48N (Sutton et al., 2012); https://doi.org/10.3334/CDIAC/OTG.TSM_WA_125W_ 47N (Sutton et al., 2013); https://doi.org/10.3334/CDIAC/OTG.TSM_DABOB_122W_478N (Sutton et al., 2014a); https://doi.org/10.3334/CDIAC/OTG.TSM_TWANOH_123W_47N (Sutton et al., 2016a); – UW Oceanic Remote Chemical/Optical Analyzer buoy data, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1184657 (Fassbender et al., 2018); – NOAA Pacific Coast Ocean Observing System cruise data, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1184657 (Fassbender et al., 2018).