Bomb radiocarbon in the Red Sea: A medium-scale gas exchange experiment

Journal Article · Wed Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 1989 · J. Geophys. Res.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/JC094iC02p02111· OSTI ID:6219430

Cember, R

The history of bomb-produced radiocarbon in the surface waters of the Red Sea and the western Gulf of Aden was reconstructed from annual growth bands of corals. Gulf of Aden surface water entering the Red Sea and flowing to the north at the surface of the Red Sea becomes progressively enriched in bomb /sup 14/C by air-sea exchange of carbon dioxide. With physical oceanographic observations and analysis as the basis of a simple model, this progressive northward enrichment can be used to calculate a mean invasionn flux for CO/sub 2/ across the Red Sea surface. The CO/sub 2/ invasion flux so calculated is 8 mol/m/sup 2//yr with an uncertainty of approximately 2 mol/m/sup 2//yr. When combined with the extensive historical observations of wind speeds in the Red Sea, the calculated CO/sub 2/ invasion flux supports the empirical relationship between CO/sub 2/ invasion and wind speed proposed by other workers. Sea surface pCO/sub 2/ was measured at seven stations along the length of the Red Sea in January 1985. These pCO/sub 2/ data show that in midwinter the net flux of CO/sub 2/ across the Red Sea surface (i.e. the difference between the invasion and evasion fluxes) is approximately zero for the Red Sea as a whole. copyright American Geophysical Union 1989

• Research Organization: Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory and Department of Geological Sciences, Columbia University, Palisades, New York
• OSTI ID: 6219430
• Journal Information: J. Geophys. Res.; (United States), Vol. 94:C2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CARBON
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
INDIAN OCEAN
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RED SEA
BOMBS
CORALS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
CNIDARIA
ELEMENTS
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
NONMETALS
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
WEAPONS
520300* - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1989)