Direct measurements of the CO2 flux over the ocean: development of a novel method

Over the ocean, eddy correlation measurements of the air-sea CO2 flux obtained with open-path sensors have typically been an order of magnitude larger than those estimated by other techniques or sensors. It is shown here that this discrepancy is due to cross sensitivity to water vapor fluctuations: a novel correction procedure is demonstrated, tested against an independent data set and proved to be robust. After correction, the observed gas transfer velocities are in reasonable agreement with published values obtained using closed-path sensors or by tracer techniques. Data from open-path sensors may now be used for air-sea CO2 flux estimation, greatly increasing the information available on air-sea gas transfer velocity.