First System-Wide Estimates of Air-Water Exchange of Carbon Dioxide in the Chesapeake Bay
Abstract
Estuaries are estimated to play an uncertain but potentially important role in the global carbon cycle via the evasion of CO2 to the atmosphere. Global estimates are uncertain due to limited data availability and the extreme heterogeneity of coastal systems. Notably, the air-water CO2 flux for the largest estuary in the United States, the Chesapeake Bay, is yet unknown. Here we provide the first system-level CO2 gas exchange estimates for the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay using pH and alkalinity data from the Chesapeake Bay Program. Errors are propagated based on errors in pH measurement and alkalinity-salinity relationships. Estimates are made at monthly resolution from 1985 to 2013 for eight segments of the Bay. We find the main stem to be a net source of CO2 to the atmosphere, outgassing from 1.9 to 2.6 mol m-2 yr-1 over the study period, with the range encompassing a variety of quality control procedures. Outgassing is greatest in the fall and winter and in the oligohaline and polyhaline portions of the Bay.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFMEP24B..08N
- Keywords:
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- 1902 Community modeling frameworks;
- INFORMATICSDE: 3022 Marine sediments: processes and transport;
- MARINE GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICSDE: 4217 Coastal processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERALDE: 4235 Estuarine processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL