Analyzing and Modeling Interannual to Decadal Variability in the Carbon Cycle of the Subtropical and Subpolar Gyres

对未来大气CO2浓度的预测需要深入了解全球气候系统的物理、生物和化学成分之间的反馈作用。研究这些反馈的一种方法是调查过去观测到的海洋碳循环的变化，就像在热带太平洋与厄尔尼诺南方涛动的关系中所做的那样。然而，人们对亚热带和亚极地环流对大气二氧化碳变化的贡献知之甚少，尽管这些环流覆盖了世界海洋的一半以上。为此，来自加州大学洛杉矶分校、百慕大生物研究站和美国国家大气研究中心的主要研究人员将通过以下目标来解决这一空白：(1)量化亚热带和亚极地环流在年际至年代际时间尺度上的海洋碳循环变异性，确定这些海洋区域在观测到的大气CO2时空变异性中的作用；(2)评价和量化生物和物理过程对观测到的变率的贡献；(3)建立起海洋中物理、化学和生物过程之间的反馈机制。本研究结果将有助于进一步认识上层海洋碳循环对年际变率的响应。

ABSTRACTOCE-0097337The prediction of future atmospheric CO2 concentrations requires an in depth understanding of the feedbacks that operate between the physical, biological and chemical components of the global climate system. One means of studying these feedbacks is to investigate observed past variability in the marine carbon cycle, as has been done in the tropical Pacific in connection with the El Nino Southern Oscillation. However, little is known about the contribution of the subtropical and subpolar gyres to atmospheric CO2 variations, despite the fact that these gyres cover more that half of the world's ocean. For this reason, principal investigators from the University of California-Los Angeles, the Bermuda Biological Research Station and the National Center for Atmospheric Research will address this gap by focusing on the following goals: (1) quantify the variability in the marine carbon cycle in the subtropical and subpolar gyres on interannual to decadal time scales and determine the role of these oceanic regions in the observed temporal and spatial variability in atmospheric CO2; (2) evaluate and quantify the contributions from biological and physical processes to the observed variability; and (3) establish the feedbacks that operate between the physical, chemical and biological processes in the ocean. Results from this study will significantly advance the understanding of the response of the upper ocean carbon cycle to interannual variability.