Surface water CO₂ measurements in the North Atlantic Ocean: optimize methodologies and analytical procedures

Theetaert, Hannelore; Gkritzalis, Thanos; Hartman, Susan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6363-1331; Brown, Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1152-1114; McGarry, Emmy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5423-5011. 2020 Surface water CO₂ measurements in the North Atlantic Ocean: optimize methodologies and analytical procedures. In: ICOS Science Conference 2020, Online, 15-17 September 2020.

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Abstract/Summary

High quality in situ observations of surface CO₂ concentrations are essential in order to increase the robustness of CO₂ flux estimates and the statistical analyses that underpin them. Various efforts - ranging from centralized EU Research Infrastructures (e.g. ICOS, EMSO, EuroARGO) to scientific community driven ones such as the Surface Ocean Carbon Atlas (SOCAT) - are attempting to fill in spatial and temporal data gaps with high quality observations of all necessary variables (fCO₂, Sea Surface Temperature, Salinity, Nutrients, etc.). Development of new technologies and optimization of methodologies is also critical to further improve data quality and reduce the uncertainties of derived products (i.e. fluxes). Within this spirit and endorsed by ICOS, the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), both members of ICOS, have collaborated on two open ocean cruises in the North Atlantic in order to perform continuous surface seawater CO₂ and total alkalinity (TA) observations. DY103 on RRS Discovery at the PAP-SO time series site (ICOS and EMSO station, https://projects.noc.ac.uk/pap/) in June – July 2019, and JC191 on RRS James Cook, a GO-SHIP hydrographic cruise along 24.5°N from January until March 2020. The DY103 cruise was setup as an inter-comparison exercise for equipment, methodologies and best practices of measuring and analyzing carbon parameters. During the cruise, different systems for surface water CO₂ and TA were installed on the underway water supply of the RSS Discovery. These systems ranged from custom made surface water CO₂ system (VLIZ equilibrator with Picarro G2201-i system), commercial sensors (Contros HydroC-CO2 FT, Pro-Oceanus CO2PRP) and also novel microfluidic systems by NOCs OTE group. Discrete samples were collected from the underway water supply and the CTD rosette Niskin bottles for dissolved inorganic carbon, TA, pH and nutrients. The discrete samples were analyzed in different laboratories both at sea and on land. There are differences between results from the various sensors/ equipment, as well as the discrete samples. During the second cruise (GO-Ship, JC191) systems were installed on the RSS James Cook to measure pCO₂ (VLIZ equilibrator with Picarro G2201-i system and HydroC-CO2 FT) and TA (Contros HydroFIA-TA) continuously. Additional carbon parameters were analyzed in discrete samples from 145 stations as well as from the underway water supply. Sea surface pCO₂ concentrations varied between 345 and 400 µatm, and showed differences between the western and eastern part of the transect. This work will focus on the setups, equipment and methodologies that were used and identify the points that will allow further optimization of the sampling, analytical and methodological procedures in order to reduce the data uncertainties and consequently the products.

Item Type:	Publication - Conference Item (Paper)
Date made live:	15 Feb 2021 15:53 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/529666

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