Seasonal variations in pCO2 and its controlling factors in surface seawater of the northern East China Sea

Surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), temperature, salinity, nutrients, and chlorophyll a were measured in the East China Sea (ECS; 31°30′–34°00′N to 124°00′–127°30′E) in August 2003 (summer), May 2004 (spring), October 2004 (early fall), and November 2005 (fall). The warm and saline Tsushima Warm Current was observed in the eastern part of the survey area during four cruises, and relatively low salinity waters due to outflow from the Changjiang (Yangtze River) were observed over the western part of the survey area. Surface pCO2 ranged from 236 to 445 μatm in spring and summer, and from 326 to 517 μatm in fall. Large pCO2 (values >400 μatm) occurred in the western part of the study area in spring and fall, and in the eastern part in summer. A positive linear correlation existed between surface pCO2 and temperature in the eastern part of the study area, where the Tsushima Warm Current dominates; this correlation suggests that temperature is the major factor controlling surface pCO2 distribution in that area. In the western part of the study area, however, the main controlling factor is different and seasonally complex. There is large transport in this region of Changjiang Diluted Water in summer, causing low salinity and low pCO2 values. The relationship between surface pCO2 and water stability suggests that the amount of mixing and/or upwelling of CO2-rich water might be the important process controlling surface pCO2 levels during spring and fall in this shallow region. Sea–air CO2 flux, based on the application of a Wanninkhof [1992. Relationship between wind speed and gas exchange over the ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research 97, 7373–7382] formula for gas transfer velocity and a set of monthly averaged satellite wind data, were −5.04±1.59, −2.52±1.81, 1.71±2.87, and 0.39±0.18 mmol m−2 d−1 in spring, summer, early fall, and fall, respectively, in the northern ECS. The ocean in this study area is therefore a carbon sink in spring and summer, but a weak source or in equilibrium with the atmosphere in fall. If the winter flux value is assumed to have been the mean of autumnal and vernal values, then the northern ECS absorbs about 0.013 Pg C annually. That result suggests that the northern ECS is a net sink for atmospheric CO2, a result consistent with previous studies.