scholarly journals Spatiotemporal variability and drivers of <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> and air–sea CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes in the California Current System: an eddy-resolving modeling study

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 671-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Turi ◽  
Z. Lachkar ◽  
N. Gruber
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Current System ◽  
California Current ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Co2 Fluxes ◽  
Biological Reduction ◽  
California Current System ◽  
Surface Ocean ◽  
Source Sink

Abstract. We quantify the CO2 source/sink nature of the California Current System (CalCS) and determine the drivers and processes behind the mean and spatiotemporal variability of the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in the surface ocean. To this end, we analyze eddy-resolving, climatological simulations of a coupled physical–biogeochemical oceanic model on the basis of the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS). In the annual mean, the entire CalCS within 800 km of the coast and from ∼33° N to 46° N is essentially neutral with regard to atmospheric CO2: the model simulates an integrated uptake flux of −0.9 ± 3.6 Tg C yr−1, corresponding to an average flux density of −0.05 ± 0.20 mol C m−2 yr−1. This near zero flux is a consequence of an almost complete regional compensation between (i) strong outgassing in the nearshore region (first 100 km) that brings waters with high concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) to the surface and (ii) and a weaker, but more widespread uptake flux in the offshore region due to an intense biological reduction of this DIC, driven by the nutrients that are upwelled together with the DIC. The air–sea CO2 fluxes vary substantially in time, both on seasonal and sub-seasonal timescales, largely driven by variations in surface ocean pCO2. Most of the variability in pCO2 is associated with the seasonal cycle, with the exception of the nearshore region, where sub-seasonal variations driven by mesoscale processes dominate. In the regions offshore of 100 km, changes in surface temperature are the main driver, while in the nearshore region, changes in surface temperature, as well as anomalies in DIC and alkalinity (Alk) owing to changes in circulation, biological productivity and air–sea CO2 fluxes dominate. The prevalence of eddy-driven variability in the nearshore 100 km leads to a complex spatiotemporal mosaic of surface ocean pCO2 and air–sea CO2 fluxes that require a substantial observational effort to determine the source/sink nature of this region reliably.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal variability and drivers of <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> and air–sea CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes in the California Current System: an eddy-resolving modeling study

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 14043-14091 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Turi ◽  
Z. Lachkar ◽  
N. Gruber
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Flux Density ◽  
Current System ◽  
California Current ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Co2 Fluxes ◽  
California Current System ◽  
Surface Ocean ◽  
Average Flux ◽  
Source Sink

Abstract. We quantify the CO2 source/sink nature of the California Current System (CalCS) and determine the drivers and processes behind the mean and spatiotemporal variability of the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in the surface ocean. To this end, we analyze eddy-resolving, climatological simulations of a coupled physical-ecosystem-biogeochemical ocean model on the basis of the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS). The model-simulated pCO2 agrees very well with in situ observations over the entire domain with virtually no bias, but the model overestimates pCO2 in the nearshore 100 km, and underestimates the observed temporal variability. In the annual mean, the entire CalCS within 800 km of the coast and from ~ 33° N to 46° N is essentially neutral with regard to atmospheric CO2. The model simulates an integrated uptake flux of −0.9 Tg C yr–1, corresponding to a very small average flux density of −0.05 mol C m–2 yr–1, with an uncertainty of the order of ±0.20 mol C m–2 yr–1. This near zero flux is a consequence of an almost complete regional compensation between the strong outgassing in the nearshore region (first 100 km), with flux densities of more than 3 mol C m–2 yr–1 and a weaker, but more widespread uptake flux in the offshore region with an average flux density of −0.17 mol C m–2 yr–1. This pattern is primarily a result of the interaction between upwelling in the nearshore that brings waters with high concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) to the surface, and an intense biological drawdown of this DIC, driven by the nutrients that are upwelled together with the DIC. The biological drawdown occurs too slowly to prevent the escape of a substantial amount of CO2 into the atmosphere, but this is compensated by the biological generation of undersaturated conditions offshore of 100 km, permitting the CalCS to take up most of the escaped CO2. Thus, the biological pump over the entire CalCS is essentially 100% efficient, making the preformed DIC and nutrient concentrations of the upwelled waters a primary determinant of the overall source/sink nature of the CalCS. The comparison of the standard simulation with one for preindustrial conditions show that the CalCS is taking up anthropogenic CO2 at a rate of about −1 mol C m–2 yr–1, implying that the region was a small source of CO2 to the atmosphere in preindustrial times. The air–sea CO2 fluxes vary substantially in time, both on seasonal and sub-seasonal timescales, largely driven by variations in surface ocean pCO2. There are important differences among the subregions. Notably, the total variance of the fluxes in the central nearshore CalCS is roughly 4–5 times larger than elsewhere. Most of the variability in pCO2 is associated with the seasonal cycle, except in the nearshore, where sub-seasonal variations driven by mesoscale processes dominate. In the regions offshore of 100 km, changes in surface temperature are the main driver, while in the nearshore region, changes in surface temperature, as well as anomalies in DIC and alkalinity (Alk) owing to changes in circulation, biological productivity and air–sea CO2 fluxes dominate. The dominance of eddy-driven variability in the nearshore 100 km leads to a complex spatiotemporal mosaic of surface ocean pCO2 and air–sea CO2 fluxes that require a substantial observational effort to determine the source/sink nature of this region reliably.

scholarly journals Can we use sea surface temperature and productivity proxy records to reconstruct Ekman upwelling?

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1985-1998
Author(s):  
Anson Cheung ◽  
Baylor Fox-Kemper ◽  
Timothy Herbert
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Current System ◽  
California Current ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
California Current System ◽  
Proxy Records ◽  
Multiple Variables ◽  
Ekman Upwelling

Abstract. Marine sediments have greatly improved our understanding of the climate system, but their interpretation often assumes that certain climate mechanisms operate consistently over all timescales of interest and that variability at one or a few sample sites is representative of an oceanographic province. In this study, we test these assumptions using modern observations in an idealized manner mimicking paleo-reconstruction to investigate whether sea surface temperature and productivity proxy records in the Southern California Current System can be used to reconstruct Ekman upwelling. The method uses extended empirical orthogonal function (EEOF) analysis of the covariation of alongshore wind stress, chlorophyll, and sea surface temperature as measured by satellites from 2002 to 2009. We find that EEOF1 does not reflect an Ekman upwelling pattern but instead much broader California Current processes. EEOF2 and 3 reflect upwelling patterns, but these patterns are timescale dependent and regional. Thus, the skill of using one site to reconstruct the large-scale dominant patterns is spatially dependent. Lastly, we show that using multiple sites and/or multiple variables generally improves field reconstruction. These results together suggest that caution is needed when attempting to extrapolate mechanisms that may be important on seasonal timescales (e.g., Ekman upwelling) to deeper time but also the advantage of having multiple proxy records.

scholarly journals Using Saildrones to Validate Satellite-Derived Sea Surface Salinity and Sea Surface Temperature along the California/Baja Coast

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 1964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Vazquez-Cuervo ◽  
Jose Gomez-Valdes ◽  
Marouan Bouali ◽  
Luis Miranda ◽  
Tom Van der Stocken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Current System ◽  
California Current ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sea Surface Salinity ◽  
Surface Salinity ◽  
California Current System ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Buoy Measurements

Traditional ways of validating satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS) products by comparing with buoy measurements, do not allow for evaluating the impact of mesoscale-to-submesoscale variability. We present the validation of remotely sensed SST and SSS data against the unmanned surface vehicle (USV)—called Saildrone—measurements from the 60 day 2018 Baja California campaign. More specifically, biases and root mean square differences (RMSDs) were calculated between USV-derived SST and SSS values, and six satellite-derived SST (MUR, OSTIA, CMC, K10, REMSS, and DMI) and three SSS (JPLSMAP, RSS40, RSS70) products. Biases between the USV SST and OSTIA/CMC/DMI were approximately zero, while MUR showed a bias of 0.3 °C. The OSTIA showed the smallest RMSD of 0.39 °C, while DMI had the largest RMSD of 0.5 °C. An RMSD of 0.4 °C between Saildrone SST and the satellite-derived products could be explained by the diurnal and sub-daily variability in USV SST, which currently cannot be resolved by remote sensing measurements. SSS showed fresh biases of 0.1 PSU for JPLSMAP and 0.2 PSU and 0.3 PSU for RMSS40 and RSS70 respectively. SST and SSS showed peaks in coherence at 100 km, most likely associated with the variability of the California Current System.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal variability and long-term trends of ocean acidification in the California Current System

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Hauri ◽  
N. Gruber ◽  
M. Vogt ◽  
S. C. Doney ◽  
R. A. Feely ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Current System ◽  
California Current ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Aragonite Saturation ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
California Current System ◽  
Ipcc Sres

Abstract. Due to seasonal upwelling, the upper ocean waters of the California Current System (CCS) have a naturally low pH and aragonite saturation state (Ωarag), making this region particularly prone to the effects of ocean acidification. Here, we use the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS) to conduct preindustrial and transient (1995–2050) simulations of ocean biogeochemistry in the CCS. The transient simulations were forced with increasing atmospheric pCO2 and increasing oceanic dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations at the lateral boundaries, as projected by the NCAR CSM 1.4 model for the IPCC SRES A2 scenario. Our results show a large seasonal variability in pH (range of ~ 0.14) and Ωarag (~ 0.2) for the nearshore areas (50 km from shore). This variability is created by the interplay of physical and biogeochemical processes. Despite this large variability, we find that present-day pH and Ωarag have already moved outside of their simulated preindustrial variability envelopes (defined by ±1 temporal standard deviation) due to the rapidly increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2. The nearshore surface pH of the northern and central CCS are simulated to move outside of their present-day variability envelopes by the mid-2040s and late 2030s, respectively. This transition may occur even earlier for nearshore surface Ωarag, which is projected to depart from its present-day variability envelope by the early- to mid-2030s. The aragonite saturation horizon of the central CCS is projected to shoal into the upper 75 m within the next 25 yr, causing near-permanent undersaturation in subsurface waters. Due to the model's overestimation of Ωarag, this transition may occur even earlier than simulated by the model. Overall, our study shows that the CCS joins the Arctic and Southern oceans as one of only a few known ocean regions presently approaching the dual threshold of widespread and near-permanent undersaturation with respect to aragonite and a departure from its variability envelope. In these regions, organisms may be forced to rapidly adjust to conditions that are both inherently chemically challenging and also substantially different from past conditions.

scholarly journals Can we use sea surface temperature and productivity proxy records to reconstruct Ekman Upwelling?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anson Cheung ◽  
Baylor Fox-Kemper ◽  
Timothy Herbert
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Current System ◽  
California Current ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
California Current System ◽  
Proxy Records ◽  
Multiple Variables ◽  
Ekman Upwelling

Abstract. Marine sediments have greatly improved our understanding of the climate system, but their interpretation often assumes that certain climate mechanisms operate consistently over all timescales of interest and that variability at one or few sample sites is representative of an oceanographic province. In this study, we test these assumptions using modern observations in an idealized manner mimicking paleo-reconstruction to investigate whether sea surface temperature and productivity proxy records in the Southern California Current System can be used to reconstruct Ekman upwelling. The method uses Extended Empirical Orthogonal Function (EEOF) analysis of covariation of alongshore windstress, chlorophyll and sea surface temperature as measured by satellites from 2002 to 2009. We find that EEOF1 does not reflect an Ekman upwelling pattern, but instead much broader California Current processes. EEOF2 and 3 reflect upwelling patterns, but these patterns are timescale dependent and are regional. Thus, the skill of using one site to reconstruct the large scale dominant patterns is spatially dependent. Lastly, we show that using multiple sites and/or multiple variables generally improve field reconstruction. These results together suggest caution is needed when attempting to extrapolate mechanisms that may be important on seasonal time scales (e.g. Ekman upwelling) to deeper time, but also the advantage of having multiple proxy records.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal variability and long-term trends of ocean acidification in the California Current System

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 10371-10428 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Hauri ◽  
N. Gruber ◽  
M. Vogt ◽  
S. C. Doney ◽  
R. A. Feely ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Current System ◽  
California Current ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Aragonite Saturation ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
California Current System ◽  
Ipcc Sres

Abstract. Due to seasonal upwelling, the upper ocean waters of the California Current System (CCS) have a naturally low pH and aragonite saturation state (Ωarag), making this region particularly prone to the effects of ocean acidification. Here, we use the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS) to conduct preindustrial and transient (1995–2050) simulations of ocean biogeochemistry in the CCS. The transient simulations were forced with increasing atmospheric pCO2 as projected by the NCAR CSM 1.4 model run under either the IPCC SRES A2 or B1 scenarios. Using ROMS, we investigate the timing of transition decades during which pH and Ωarag depart from their modeled preindustrial (1750) and present-day (2011) variability envelopes. We report these transition decades by noting the midpoint of the ten-year transition periods. In addition, we also analyze the timing of near permanent aragonite undersaturation in the upper 100 m of the water column. Our results show that an interplay of physical and biogeochemical processes create large seasonal variability in pH (∼ 0.14) and Ωarag (∼ 0.2). Despite this large variability, we find that present-day pH and Ωarag have already moved out of their preindustrial variability envelopes due to the rapidly increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2. The simulations following the A2 emissions scenario suggest that nearshore surface pH of the northern and central CCS will move out of their present-day variability envelopes by 2045 and 2037, respectively. However, surface Ωarag of the northern and central CCS subregions are projected to depart from their present-day variability envelopes sooner, by 2030 and 2035, respectively. By 2025, the aragonite saturation horizon of the central CCS is projected to shoal into the upper 75 m for the duration of the annual cycle, causing near permanent undersaturation in subsurface waters. Overall, our study shows that the CCS joins the Arctic and Southern Oceans as one of only a few known ocean regions presently approaching this dual threshold of undersaturation with respect to aragonite and a departure from its variability envelope. In these regions, organisms may be forced to rapidly adjust to conditions that are both inherently chemically challenging and also substantially different from prior conditions.

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