The effect of sea-ice growth on air–sea CO2 flux in a tank experiment

In order to clarify the CO2 exchange between the seawater and the overlying air during the sea-ice formation, we have carried out tank experiments in a low-temperature room. CO2 concentration above the sea-ice began to increase since the beginning of the sea-ice formation, and increased at larger rates with time and the decrease in air temperature. This increase of CO2 concentration in air was mainly caused by the increase in dissolved inorganic carbon concentration in the brine of the upper part of sea-ice, changes in CO2 solubility and dissociation constants of carbonic acid. The CO2 flux increased logarithmically with time, and reached a level of 2 × 10−4 to 5 × 10−4 g-C m−2 hr−1 at 50 mm ice thickness.We found that the CO2 flux was correlated well with the salinity and negatively with the volume of the brine in the upper part of the sea-ice. These suggested the larger role of the difference in partial pressure of CO2 between brine and air as compared to that of competitive change in the brine volume. Present results suggest the necessity to examine the CO2 exchange between the seawater and air in seasonal sea-ice areas