[Measurements of surface ocean carbon dioxide partial pressure during WOCE]

Technical Report · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6792807· OSTI ID:6792807

This paper discusses the research progress of the second year of research under Measurement of Surface Ocean Carbon Dioxide Partial Pressure During WOCE'' and proposes to continue measurements of underway pCO[sub 2]. During most of the first year of this grant, our efforts to measure pCO[sub 2] on WOCE WHP legs were frustrated by ship problems. The R/V Knorr, which was originally scheduled to carry out the first work on WHP lines P19 and P16 in the southeastem Pacific during the 1990-91 austral summer, was delayed in the shipyard during her mid-life refit for more than a year. In the interim, the smaller R/V Thomas Washington, was pressed into service to carry out lower-latitude portions of WHP lines P16 and P17 during mid-1991 (TUNES Expedition). We installed and operated our underway chromatographic system on this expedition, even though space and manpower on this smaller vessel were limited and no one from our group would be aboard any of the 3 WHP expedition legs. The results for carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are shown. A map of the cruise track is shown for each leg, marked with cumulative distance. Following each track is a figure showing the carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide results as a function of distance along this track. The results are plotted as dry-gas mole fractions (in ppm and ppb, respectively) in air and in gas equilibrated with surface seawater at a total pressure equal to the barometric pressure. The air data are plotted as a 10-point running mean, and appear as a roughly horizontal line. The seawater data are plotted as individual points, using a 5-point Gaussian smoother. Equal values Of xCO[sub 2] in air and surface seawater indicate air-sea equilibrium.

• Research Organization: California Univ., San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: FG03-90ER60981
• OSTI ID: 6792807
• Report Number(s): DOE/ER/60981-T1; ON: DE93006890
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
DOCUMENT TYPES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MONITORING
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
NITROUS OXIDE
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PACIFIC OCEAN
PARTIAL PRESSURE
PROGRESS REPORT
SEAS
SEAWATER
SURFACE WATERS
WATER