The CO[sub 2] system in seawater

Journal Article · Sat Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994 · Sea Technology; (United States)

OSTI ID:6715072

Millero, F J ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Miami, FL (United States)

Approximately 40 percent of the CO[sub 2] added to the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels is though to be going into the oceans. The flux of carbon dioxide across the air-sea interface is controlled by the difference in the fugacity of CO[sub 2] in the atmosphere and in the waters. Once the CO[sub 2] is in solution, it can equilibrate with the bicarbonate and carbonate ions. The carbonate ion concentration in the oceans controls the rate of precipitation and dissolution of CaCO[sub 3] in the oceans. The carbonate system can be characterized by measuring at least two of the controlling parameters pH (-log[H[sup +]]), fCO[sub 2] (the fugacity of CO[sub 2]), TCO[sub 2] (the total inorganic CO[sub 2]), and TA (the total alkalinity). The other parameters can be calculated using thermodynamic relations. The author has summarized the recent measurements on the thermodynamics of the carbonate system. New measurements for the dissociation constants of carbonic acid in seawater using the hydrogen and silver-silver chloride electrode have a considerably higher precision that the earlier studies. It is desirable, however, to derive consensus equations for carbonic acid based on best data. Thus, the combination of these results may yield more reliable equations to represent carbonic acid in seawater.

• OSTI ID: 6715072
• Journal Information: Sea Technology; (United States), Journal Name: Sea Technology; (United States) Vol. 35:10; ISSN 0093-3651; ISSN SEATAD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540340* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Thermal Effluents Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990200 -- Mathematics & Computers
AIR-WATER INTERACTIONS
CALCULATION METHODS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON CYCLE
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CARBONIC ACID
CHALCOGENIDES
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION SOURCES
SEAWATER
THERMODYNAMICS
WATER