Anthropogenic carbon in the East Greenland Current

Sections of dissolved inorganic anthropogenic carbon ( C T anthro ) based on 2002 data in the East Greenland Current (EGC) are presented. The C T anthro has been estimated using a model based on optimum multiparameter analysis with predefined source water types. Values of C T anthro have been assigned to the source water types through age estimations based on the transit time distribution (TTD) technique. The validity of this approach is discussed and compared to other methods. The results indicated that the EGC had rather high levels of C T anthro in the whole water column, and the anthropogenic signal of the different source areas were detected along the southward transit. We estimated an annual transport of C T anthro with the Denmark Strait overflow (σθ > 27.8 kg m−3) of ∼0.036 ± 0.005 Gt C y−1. The mean C T anthro concentration in this density range was ∼30 μmol kg−1. The main contribution was from Atlantic derived waters, the Polar Intermediate Water and the Greenland Sea Arctic Intermediate Water.