This study evaluated interannual variation in the subsurface aragonite undersaturation zone (Ω layer) in the Pacific Arctic Ocean, using data from the 2016-2019 period. The upper boundary (DEP) of the Ω layer generally formed at a depth where the contribution of corrosive Pacific water was approximately 98 %. The intensity of the Beaufort Gyre associated with freshwater accumulation mainly determined interannual variation in DEP, but the direction of its effect was opposite west and east of ~166°W.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGeological storage of carbon dioxide (CO) is an integral component of cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reduction scenarios. However, a robust monitoring regime is necessary for public and regulatory assurance that any leakage from a storage site can be detected. Here, we present the results from a controlled CO release experiment undertaken at the K-COSEM test site (South Korea) with the aim of demonstrating the effectiveness of the inherent tracer fingerprints (noble gases, δC) in monitoring CO leakage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Arctic is rapidly transforming due to sea ice loss, increasing shipping activity, and oil and gas development. Associated marine and combustion emissions influence atmospheric aerosol composition, impacting complex aerosol-cloud-climate feedbacks. To improve understanding of the sources and processes determining Arctic aerosol composition, atmospheric particles were collected aboard the Korean icebreaker R/V Araon cruising within the Bering Strait and Chukchi Sea during August 2016.
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October 2019
Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) production in the northern Arctic Ocean has been considered to be minimal because of high sea ice concentration and extremely low productivity. However, we found DMS concentration (1-33 nM) in melt ponds on sea ice at a very high latitude (78°N) in the central Arctic Ocean to be up to ten times that in the adjacent open ocean (<3 nM). We divided melt ponds into three categories: freshwater melt ponds, brackish melt ponds, and open saline melt ponds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe vertical migration of zooplankton and micronekton (hereafter 'zooplankton') has ramifications throughout the food web. Here, we present the first evidence that climate fluctuations affect the vertical migration of zooplankton in the Southern Ocean, based on multi-year acoustic backscatter data from one of the deep troughs in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica. High net primary productivity (NPP) and the annual variation in seasonal ice cover make the Amundsen Sea coastal polynya an ideal site in which to examine how zooplankton behavior responds to climate fluctuations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated horizontal and vertical distributions of DMS in the upper water column of the Amundsen Sea Polynya and Pine Island Polynya during the austral summer (January-February) of 2016 using a membrane inlet mass spectrometer (MIMS) onboard the Korean icebreaker R/V Araon. The surface water concentrations of DMS varied from <1 to 400nM. The highest DMS (up to 300nM) were observed in sea ice-polynya transition zones and near the Getz ice shelf, where both the first local ice melting and high plankton productivity were observed.
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January 2016
We measured the carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in the marine boundary layer and the surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean from 50°N to 50°S during the UK Atlantic Meridional Transect expedition (AMT-7) in October 1998, covering the open ocean and coastal regions. Throughout the cruise track, atmospheric CO concentrations continually decreased southwards in the northern hemisphere with sporadic low and high concentrations encountered. South of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) atmospheric CO was enhanced by ∼10 ppb compared to north of the ITCZ due likely to biomass burning emissions prevailing in the tropical continents.
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