The field data characterizing the dynamics of the carbonate system, the level of surface water corrosivity with respect to aragonite, and CO2 fluxes in the ocean–atmosphere system in the Kara Sea in the late autumn season are investigated. The study of carbonate characteristics of waters was carried out on board the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in October 2021. At that time, the waters of the main part of the studied area of the Kara Sea absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere intensely; in the invasion zone, the average CO2 flux was 30.2 ± 35.5 mmol m–2 day–1. It is shown that, among the Arctic seas in the season under study, the open water area of the Kara Sea was one of the most significant sinks for atmospheric CO2. The change in the flux direction occurred in a narrow coastal zone; supersaturation of waters with CO2 was recorded in the estuarine regions, where the contribution of inland waters exceeded 50%. It is found that, with a small contribution of river waters (<10%), the change in the surface water temperature determined more than 90% of the spatial variability of рСО2. In the late autumn season, the surface waters of the Kara Sea were mainly supersaturated with calcium carbonate; an extremely low aragonite saturation level was found only in the estuarine regions, the areas of maximum influence of river waters.
Pipko I. I., Pugach S. P. & Semiletov I. P., 2022. Dynamics of carbonate characteristics of the Kara Sea waters in the late autumn season of 2021. Doklady Earth Sciences 506: 671–676. Article.
