scholarly journals Landfast sea ice in the Bothnian Bay (Baltic Sea) as a temporary storage compartment for greenhouse gases

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N.-X. Geilfus ◽  
K. M. Munson ◽  
E. Eronen-Rasimus ◽  
H. Kaartokallio ◽  
M. Lemes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Landfast Sea Ice ◽  
Bothnian Bay

Although studies of biogeochemical processes in polar sea ice have been increasing, similar research on relatively warm low-salinity sea ice remains sparse. In this study, we investigated biogeochemical properties of the landfast sea ice cover in the brackish Bothnian Bay (Northern Baltic Sea) and the possible role of this sea ice in mediating the exchange of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) across the water column–sea ice–atmosphere interface. Observations of total alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon in both landfast sea ice and the water column suggest that the carbonate system is mainly driven by salinity. While high CH4 and N2O concentrations were observed in both the water column (up to 14.3 and 17.5 nmol L–1, respectively) and the sea ice (up to 143.6 and 22.4 nmol L–1, respectively), these gases appear to be enriched in sea ice compared to the water column. This enrichment may be attributable to the sea ice formation process, which concentrates impurities within brine. As sea ice temperature and brine volume decrease, gas solubility decreases as well, promoting the formation of bubbles. Gas bubbles originating from underlying sediments may also be incorporated within the ice cover and contribute to the enrichment in sea ice. The fate of these greenhouse gases within the ice merits further research, as storage in this low-salinity seasonal sea ice is temporary.

scholarly journals Impact of snow cover on CO<sub>2</sub> dynamics in Antarctic pack ice

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3263-3295
Author(s):  
N.-X. Geilfus ◽  
J.-L. Tison ◽  
S. F. Ackley ◽  
S. Rysgaard ◽  
L. A. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Partial Pressures ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Cold Events

Abstract. Temporal evolution of pCO2 profiles in sea ice in the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica, in October 2007 shows that the CO2 system in the ice was primarily controlled by physical and thermodynamic processes. During the survey, a succession of warming and cold events strongly influenced the physical, chemical and thermodynamic properties of the ice cover. Two sampling sites with contrasting characteristics of ice and snow thickness were sampled: one had little snow accumulation (from 8 to 25 cm) and larger temperature and salinity variations than the second site, where the snow cover was up to 38 cm thick and therefore better insulated the underlying sea ice. We confirm that each cooling/warming event was associated with an increase/decrease in the brine salinity, total alkalinity (TA), total dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2), and in situ brine and bulk ice CO2 partial pressures (pCO2). Thicker snow covers muted these changes, suggesting that snow influences changes in the sea ice carbonate system through its impact on the temperature and salinity of the sea ice cover. During this survey, pCO2 was undersaturated with respect to the atmosphere both in situ, in the bulk ice (from 10 to 193 μatm), and in the brine (from 65 to 293 μatm), and the ice acted as a sink for atmospheric CO2 (up to 2.9 mmol m−2 d−1), despite the underlying supersaturated seawater (up to 462 μatm).

scholarly journals Estimates of ikaite export from sea ice to the underlying seawater in a sea ice–seawater mesocosm

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 2173-2189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas-Xavier Geilfus ◽  
Ryan J. Galley ◽  
Brent G. T. Else ◽  
Karley Campbell ◽  
Tim Papakyriakou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Dynamics ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Main Process ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Ice Growth ◽  
Ice Melt

Abstract. The precipitation of ikaite and its fate within sea ice is still poorly understood. We quantify temporal inorganic carbon dynamics in sea ice from initial formation to its melt in a sea ice–seawater mesocosm pool from 11 to 29 January 2013. Based on measurements of total alkalinity (TA) and total dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2), the main processes affecting inorganic carbon dynamics within sea ice were ikaite precipitation and CO2 exchange with the atmosphere. In the underlying seawater, the dissolution of ikaite was the main process affecting inorganic carbon dynamics. Sea ice acted as an active layer, releasing CO2 to the atmosphere during the growth phase, taking up CO2 as it melted and exporting both ikaite and TCO2 into the underlying seawater during the whole experiment. Ikaite precipitation of up to 167 µmolkg−1 within sea ice was estimated, while its export and dissolution into the underlying seawater was responsible for a TA increase of 64–66 µmolkg−1 in the water column. The export of TCO2 from sea ice to the water column increased the underlying seawater TCO2 by 43.5 µmolkg−1, suggesting that almost all of the TCO2 that left the sea ice was exported to the underlying seawater. The export of ikaite from the ice to the underlying seawater was associated with brine rejection during sea ice growth, increased vertical connectivity in sea ice due to the upward percolation of seawater and meltwater flushing during sea ice melt. Based on the change in TA in the water column around the onset of sea ice melt, more than half of the total ikaite precipitated in the ice during sea ice growth was still contained in the ice when the sea ice began to melt. Ikaite crystal dissolution in the water column kept the seawater pCO2 undersaturated with respect to the atmosphere in spite of increased salinity, TA and TCO2 associated with sea ice growth. Results indicate that ikaite export from sea ice and its dissolution in the underlying seawater can potentially hamper the effect of oceanic acidification on the aragonite saturation state (Ωaragonite) in fall and in winter in ice-covered areas, at the time when Ωaragonite is smallest.

scholarly journals Meteoric water contribution to sea ice formation and its control of the surface water carbonate cycle on the Wandel Sea shelf, northeastern Greenland

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas-Xavier Geilfus ◽  
Kathleen Munson ◽  
Marcos Lemes ◽  
Feiyue Wang ◽  
Jean-Louis Tison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Carbonate ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Meteoric Water ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Carbonate Minerals ◽  
Glacial Meltwater

An influx of glacial meltwater has the ability to alter the properties of marine surface waters and their ability to exchange CO2 through changes to water column stratification and the inorganic carbon system. Here, we report how inputs of meteoric water affect the physical and biogeochemical properties of both the water column and the sea ice cover on the Wandel Sea shelf, northeastern Greenland, during spring 2015. The observed depleted δ18O–H2O in the water column, with surface water values as low as –16.3 ‰, suggests a strong input of meteoric water (i.e., water derived from atmospheric precipitation). Depleted δ18O–H2O observed within sea ice (from –21.5 to –8.0 ‰) reflects its formation from surface water that was already depleted isotopically. In addition, a thick snow cover, as present during the study, promotes the formation of snow ice as well as insulates the ice cover. Within sea ice, the resulting relatively warm temperature and low salinity impedes ikaite formation. However, measurements of total dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity indicate that, in both sea ice and the water column, the dissolution of calcium carbonate was the main process affecting the carbonate system. This finding suggests that inputs of glacial meltwater deliver glacier-derived carbonate minerals to the ocean which become incorporated within the ice structure, increasing calcium carbonate dissolution in the water column in the absence of ikaite precipitation within the sea ice. If widespread in glacial-fed waters, bedrock carbonate minerals could increase CO2 sequestration in glacial catchments despite the weakening of the sea ice carbon pump.

scholarly journals Sea ice <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> dynamics and air–ice CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes during the Sea Ice Mass Balance in the Antarctic (SIMBA) experiment – Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 2395-2407 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.-X. Geilfus ◽  
J.-L. Tison ◽  
S. F. Ackley ◽  
R. J. Galley ◽  
S. Rysgaard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Partial Pressures ◽  
Bellingshausen Sea ◽  
Ice Mass Balance

Abstract. Temporal evolution of pCO2 profiles in sea ice in the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica, in October 2007 shows physical and thermodynamic processes controls the CO2 system in the ice. During the survey, cyclical warming and cooling strongly influenced the physical, chemical, and thermodynamic properties of the ice cover. Two sampling sites with contrasting characteristics of ice and snow thickness were sampled: one had little snow accumulation (from 8 to 25 cm) and larger temperature and salinity variations than the second site, where the snow cover was up to 38 cm thick and therefore better insulated the underlying sea ice. We show that each cooling/warming event was associated with an increase/decrease in the brine salinity, total alkalinity (TA), total dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2), and in situ brine and bulk ice CO2 partial pressures (pCO2). Thicker snow covers reduced the amplitude of these changes: snow cover influences the sea ice carbonate system by modulating the temperature and therefore the salinity of the sea ice cover. Results indicate that pCO2 was undersaturated with respect to the atmosphere both in the in situ bulk ice (from 10 to 193 μatm) and brine (from 65 to 293 μatm), causing the sea ice to act as a sink for atmospheric CO2 (up to 2.9 mmol m−2 d−1), despite supersaturation of the underlying seawater (up to 462 μatm).

scholarly journals Inorganic carbon fluxes on the Mackenzie Shelf of the Beaufort Sea

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacoba Mol ◽  
Helmuth Thomas ◽  
Paul G. Myers ◽  
Xianmin Hu ◽  
Alfonso Mucci
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Beaufort Sea ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Surface Mixed Layer ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Carbon Transfer ◽  
Mackenzie Shelf

Abstract. The Mackenzie Shelf in the southeastern Beaufort Sea is a region that has experienced large changes in the past several decades as warming, sea-ice loss, and increased river discharge have altered carbon cycling. Upwelling and downwelling events are common on the shelf, caused by strong, fluctuating along-shore winds, resulting in cross-shelf Ekman transport, and an alternating estuarine and anti-estuarine circulation. Downwelling carries inorganic carbon and other remineralization products off the shelf and into the deep basin for possible long-term storage in the world oceans. Upwelling carries dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrient-rich waters from the Pacific-origin upper halocline layer (UHL) onto the shelf. Profiles of DIC and total alkalinity (TA) taken in August and September of 2014 are used to investigate the cycling of inorganic carbon on the Mackenzie Shelf. The along-shore transport of water and the cross-shelf transport of inorganic carbon are quantified using velocity field output from a simulation of the Arctic and Northern Hemisphere Atlantic (ANHA4) configuration of the Nucleus of European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) framework. A strong upwelling event prior to sampling on the Mackenzie Shelf is analyzed and the resulting influence on the carbonate system, including the saturation state of waters with respect to aragonite and pH, is investigated. TA and the oxygen isotope ratio of water (δ18O) are used to examine water-mass distributions in the study area and to investigate the influence of Pacific Water, Mackenzie River freshwater, and sea-ice melt on carbon dynamics and air-sea fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the surface mixed layer. Understanding carbon transfer in this seasonally dynamic environment is key to quantify the importance of Arctic shelf regions to the global carbon cycle and provide a basis for understanding how it will respond to the aforementioned climate-induced changes.

scholarly journals Spatial variation of biogeochemical properties of landfast sea ice in the Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea

2006 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 80-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Steffens ◽  
M.A. Granskog ◽  
H. Kaartokallio ◽  
H. Kuosa ◽  
K. Luodekari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Thick Layer ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Gulf Of Bothnia ◽  
Landfast Sea Ice

AbstractHorizontal variation of landfast sea-ice properties was studied in the Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea, during March 2004. In order to estimate their variability among and within different spatial levels, 72 ice cores were sampled on five spatial scales (with spacings of 10 cm, 2.5 m, 25 m, 250m and 2.5 km) using a hierarchical sampling design. Entire cores were melted, and bulk-ice salinity, concentrations of chlorophylla(Chla), phaeophytin (Phaeo), dissolved nitrate plus nitrite (DIN) as well as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) were determined. All sampling sites were covered by a 5.5–23 cm thick layer of snow. Ice thicknesses of cores varied from 26 to 58 cm, with bulk-ice salinities ranging between 0.2 and 0.7 as is typical for Baltic Sea ice. Observed values for Chla(range: 0.8–6.0 mg ChlaL–1; median: 2.9 mg ChlaL–1) and DOC (range: 37–397 μM; median: 95 μM) were comparable to values reported by previous sea-ice studies from the Baltic Sea. Analysis of variance among different spatial levels revealed significant differences on the 2.5km scale for ice thickness, DOC and Phaeo (with the latter two being positively correlated with ice thickness). For salinity and Chla, the 250 m scale was found to be the largest scale where significant differences could be detected, while snow depth only varied significantly on the 25 m scale. Variability on the 2.5 m scale contributed significantly to the total variation for ice thickness, salinity, Chlaand DIN. In the case of DON, none of the investigated levels exhibited variation that was significantly different from the considerable amount of variation found between replicate cores. Results from a principal component analysis suggest that ice thickness is one of the main elements structuring the investigated ice habitat on a large scale, while snow depth, nutrients and salinity seem to be of secondary importance.

scholarly journals Photosynthetic production in the Central Arctic during the record sea-ice minimum in 2012

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 2897-2945 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Fernández-Méndez ◽  
C. Katlein ◽  
B. Rabe ◽  
M. Nicolaus ◽  
I. Peeken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Annual Production ◽  
Ice Algae ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
Eurasian Basin

Abstract. The ice-covered Central Arctic Ocean is characterized by low primary productivity due to light and nutrient limitations. The recent reduction in ice cover has the potential to substantially increase phytoplankton primary production, but little is yet known about the fate of the ice-associated primary production and of the nutrient supply with increasing warming. This study presents results from the Central Arctic Ocean collected during summer 2012, when sea-ice reached a minimum extent since the onset of satellite observations. Net primary productivity (NPP) was measured in the water column, sea ice and melt ponds by 14CO2 uptake at different irradiances. Photosynthesis vs. irradiance (PI) curves were established in laboratory experiments and used to upscale measured NPP to the deep Eurasian Basin (north of 78° N) using the irradiance-based Central Arctic Ocean Primary Productivity (CAOPP) model. In addition, new annual production was calculated from the seasonal nutrient drawdown in the mixed layer since last winter. Results show that ice algae can contribute up to 60% to primary production in the Central Arctic at the end of the season. The ice-covered water column has lower NPP rates than open water due to light limitation. As indicated by the nutrient ratios in the euphotic zone, nitrate was limiting primary production in the deep Eurasian Basin close to the Laptev Sea area, while silicate was the main limiting nutrient at the ice margin near the Atlantic inflow. Although sea-ice cover was substantially reduced in 2012, total annual new production in the Eurasian Basin was 17 ± 7 Tg C yr-1, which is within the range of estimates of previous years. However, when adding the contribution by sub-ice algae, the annual production for the deep Eurasian Basin (north of 78° N) could double previous estimates for that area with a surplus of 16 Tg C yr-1. Our data suggest that sub-ice algae are an important component of the ice-covered Central Arctic productivity. It remains an important question if their contribution to productivity is on the rise with thinning ice, or if it will decline due to overall sea-ice retreat and be replaced by phytoplankton.

scholarly journals Underestimation of surface pCO2 and air-sea CO2 fluxes due to freshwater stratification in an Arctic shelf sea, Hudson Bay

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed M. M. Ahmed ◽  
Brent G. T. Else ◽  
David Capelle ◽  
Lisa A. Miller ◽  
Tim Papakyriakou
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
River Runoff ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Stable Isotope Ratio ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Hudson Bay ◽  
Co2 Fluxes ◽  
Ancillary Data ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
The Impact

The objective of this study is to quantify the impact of freshwater stratification on the vertical gradients of partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) and estimates of air-sea CO2 exchange in Hudson Bay during peak sea-ice melt and river runoff. During the spring of 2018, we sampled water in Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait for dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, salinity, the oxygen stable isotope ratio in the water (δ18O), and other ancillary data. The coastal domain and regions close to the ice edge had significant vertical concentration gradients of pCO2 across the top meters of the ocean due to the presence of a stratified fresh layer at the surface. The pCO2 and salinity in the central (where sea-ice melt was significant) and the southeast (where river runoff and sea-ice melt were significant) side of the bay generally increased with depth, with average gradients of 4.5 μatm m–1 and 0.5 m–1, respectively. Ignoring these gradients causes a significant error in calculating air-sea CO2 fluxes, especially when using shipboard underway systems that measure pCO2 at several meters below the sea surface. We found that the oceanic CO2 sink in Hudson Bay is underestimated by approximately 50% if underway pCO2 system measurements are used without correction. However, we observed that these gradients do not persist for more than 5 weeks following ice melt. We have derived a linear correction for underway pCO2 measurements to account for freshwater stratification during periods of 1–5 weeks after ice breakup. Given the lack of measurements in stratified Arctic waters, our results provide a road map to better estimates of the important role of these regions in global carbon cycles.

scholarly journals Early Diagenesis in Sediments of the Venice Lagoon (Italy) and Its Relationship to Hypoxia

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Brigolin ◽  
Christophe Rabouille ◽  
Clément Demasy ◽  
Bruno Bombled ◽  
Gaël Monvoisin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Sediment Oxygen Demand ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
Climate Conditions

This work focuses on sediments of a shallow water lagoon, located in a densely populated area undergoing multiple stressors, with the goal of increasing the understanding of the links between diagenetic processes occurring in sediments, the dynamics of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water column, and potential consequences of hypoxia. Sediment data were collected over three consecutive years, from 2015 to 2017, during spring–summer, at five stations. Measured variables included: sediment porosity, grain size and organic carbon content, porewater microprofiles of O2, pH and H2S, porewater profiles of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA), NH4+, NO3–, dissolved Fe, and SO42–. In addition, long-term time series of oxygen saturations in the water column (years 2005–2017) were utilized in order to identify the occurrence and duration of hypoxic periods. The results show that the median DO saturation value in summer months was below 50% (around 110 μmol L–1), and that saturation values below 25% (below the hypoxic threshold) can persist for more than 1 week. Sediment stations can be divided in two groups based on their diagenetic intensity: intense and moderate. At these two groups of stations, the average DIC net production rates, estimated trough a steady-state model (Profile) were, respectively, of 2.8 and 1.0 mmol m–2 d–1, SO42– consumption rates were respectively 1.6 and 0.4 mmol m–2 d–1, while diffusive oxygen uptake fluxes, calculated from the sediment microprofile data, were of 28.5 and 17.5 mmol m–2 d–1. At the stations characterized by intense diagenesis, total dissolved sulfide accumulated in porewaters close to the sediment-water interface, reaching values of 0.7 mM at 10 cm. Considering the typical physico-chemical summer conditions, the theoretical time required to consume oxygen down to the hypoxic level by sediment oxygen demand ranges between 5 and 18 days, in absence of mixing and re-oxygenation. This estimation highlights that sediment diagenesis may play a crucial role in triggering and maintaining hypoxia of lagoon waters during the summer season in specific high intensity diagenesis zones. This role of the sediment could be enhanced by changes in regional climate conditions, such as the increase in frequency of summer heat waves.

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