The importance of adding unbiased Argo observations to the ocean carbon observing system.

The current coverage of direct, high-quality ship-based observations of surface ocean pCO includes large gaps in time and space, and has been declining since 2017. These ocean observations provide the basis for the data products that reconstruct surface ocean pCO and estimate ocean carbon uptake. Improved data coverage is needed to advance our understanding of the ocean carbon sink and air-sea CO exchange.

The Ocean Carbon Response to COVID-Related Emissions Reductions.

The decline in global emissions of carbon dioxide due to the COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to investigate the sensitivity of the global carbon cycle and climate system to emissions reductions. Recent efforts to study the response to these emissions declines has not addressed their impact on the ocean, yet ocean carbon absorption is particularly susceptible to changing atmospheric carbon concentrations. Here, we use ensembles of simulations conducted with an Earth system model to explore the potential detection of COVID-related emissions reductions in the partial pressure difference in carbon dioxide between the surface ocean and overlying atmosphere (ΔpCO), a quantity that is regularly measured.