Circulation of Carbon Dioxide in the Ocean

It’s clever entrance and escape

Sarah Woodhouse

The Carbon Cycle

Trees breathe too

Into the SeaThe ocean alone contains 36,000 giga

tons of carbon mostly in the form of bicarbonate ion which aids in the pH balance.

Hurricanes and typhoons near the equator wash away sediments resulting in large amounts of carbon being buried.

20,000 leagues under the sea: Circulation in the deep oceanThermohaline Circulation: circulation below

the major wind-driven currents Key factor: density distribution function of

temperature and salinity

We didn’t start the fireHeat entering the ocean from the interior = 0.1% Contributing factors: vents, undersea volcanoes,

sea floor spreadingEarth geothermally heats the bottom of the ocean

creating small scale circulation

Hydrothermal activity releasing CO2Release rate of CO2 is assumed to be

proportional to mean spreading rateUnderwater volcanoes release droplets of CO2 Is the amount of CO2 absorbed by the ocean

enough to cause a change in global warming?

Air-sea interfaceNOAA’s project determines CO2 transferGas transfer velocity is dependent on

small scale surface wavesEssentially, gas transfer velocity is a

function of wind speed

Let the wind howlU10 is the wind speed at 10 meters above the surface,

k = transfer velocity Taken from various tank and buoy experiments

SINK or swimThe ocean acts as a sink to absorb much of

the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide into

the mixed layerWarm surface waters cause stratification

which can lead to stagnant waters and a decrease in the uptake of CO2

Sources Knauss http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11539654 http://www.po.gso.uri.edu/airsea/heidel.html http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/pubs/outstand/feel2331/feel2331.shtml Leovy, Jill. (April 29, 2010). Underwater volcanoes discovered off

California coast. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.physorg.com/news191775179.html

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/OceanCarbon/