North Pacific Water’s Larger Potential Sink Capacity for Absorbing Anthropogenic CO2 and the Processes Recovering It

Large Variability of Dissolved Inorganic Radiocarbon in the Kuroshio Extension of the Northwest North Pacific

“…Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) is the largest exchangeable pool of carbon in the ocean and is biogeochemically important because it is directly linked to the organic carbon pool through photosynthesis and respiration. The variability of DIC in the ocean is controlled not only by anthropogenic CO 2 invasion (Winn et al 1998; Tsunogai 2000) but also by changes in ocean circulation and biological activities (Tsurushima et al 2002; Wakita et al 2010; Gruber 2011). Radiocarbon ( 14 C) measurement of DIC has been a powerful tool to study carbon cycling (Broecker et al 1995; Levin and Hesshaimer 2000), and circulation and transport of water masses in the ocean (Broecker et al 1985; Key 1996; Druffel et al 2008; Kumamoto et al 2013).…”

Decadal Variations in Radiocarbon in Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) Along a Transect in the Western North Pacific Ocean

“…Each year, approximately 30%-40% of anthropogenically produced CO 2 is absorbed by the ocean through air-sea exchange and dissolved as DIC in the ocean (Gruber et al, 2009;Lemke et al, 2007). The variability in DIC in the ocean is controlled not only by air-sea exchange (Tsunogai, 2000;Winn et al, 1998) but also by changes in ocean circulation and biological activities (Gruber, 2011;Tsurushima et al, 2002;Wakita et al, 2010). The distribution and cycling of DIC in the ocean therefore play crucial roles in the global carbon cycle and in climate change (Key et al, 2004;Valsala et al, 2012;Yasunaka et al, 2014).Radiocarbon ( 14 C) natural abundances have been used in studies of marine carbon cycling to determine the sources, residence times, transformations, and interactions of both organic and inorganic carbon reservoirs (Bau-…”