Conveners: Steven Emerson, and Doug Wallace
Abstract submission is now open until April 2nd, 2015.
The pCO2 content of the atmosphere is regulated by exchange with the upper ocean via the solubility and biological pumps. About one quarter of the anthropogenic CO2 introduced to the atmosphere is ultimately stored in the ocean causing a decrease in pH. Understanding the physical, biological and chemical processes controlling the atmosphere-ocean carbon cycle are key to accurate predictions of ocean feedbacks to global warming. While there have been great advances on the relationship between air-sea exchange and wind speed, mechanisms controlling the fluxes are still uncertain. Satellite-based estimates of the biological pump predict geographic variations that are not observed in upper-ocean, mass-balance studies. The response of ocean pH to the anthropogenic CO2 invasion is nearly certain, but generalizations about the effects on marine biology are still tenuous. This session explores recent advances in marine carbon cycle studies in the upper ocean and atmosphere.
