Modelling the carbon export and air–sea flux of CO2 in the Greenland Sea

We have developed a 3D model for the carbon cycle and air–sea flux of CO2 in the Greenland Sea that consists of three submodels for hydrodynamics, carbon chemistry and plankton ecology. The hydrodynamical model, based on the primitive Navier–Stokes equations, simulates the physical environment that is used for the chemical and biological models. The chemical model calculates the pCO2 as a function of the total inorganic carbon, alkalinity, temperature and salinity. The ecological model has eight state variables and simulates the transformation of CO2 into organic carbon, vertical transport, and the respiration processes that convert the organic carbon back into inorganic form. The model gives an average annual primary production of 68 g C m−2 y−1, of which 44.7 g C m−2 y−1 is new production. In the eastern part of the Greenland Sea, the average annual new production is above 50 g C m−2 y−1. Simulated, annual flux of CO2 from the atmosphere is 53 g C m−2 y−1, which sums up to 0.026 Gt for the whole Greenland Sea. Of this, 9 g C m−2 y−1 is exported by sinking particles, 6 g C m−2 y−1 by migrating zooplankton (mainly Calanus hyperboreus), and 38 g C m−2 y−1 by advection.