Using Noble Gases to Assess the Ocean's Carbon Pumps

• Published in: Annual review of marine science Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 75 - 103
• Main Authors: Hamme, Roberta C, Nicholson, David P, Jenkins, William J, Emerson, Steven R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Annual Reviews 03-01-2019; Annual Reviews, Inc
• Subjects: air-sea exchange; Arctic Regions; Argon; Atmospheric models; biological pump; bubbles; Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Carbon Dioxide - analysis; Carbon Dioxide - metabolism; Gas exchange; Gases; Krypton; Neon; noble gases; Noble Gases - chemistry; ocean carbon cycle; Ocean models; Oceans; Oceans and Seas; Organic carbon; Physical properties; Polar environments; Pumps; Rare gases; Seawater - chemistry; Solubility; solubility pump; ventilation; Arctic Regions; ocean carbon cycle; biological pump; solubility pump; ventilation; air–sea exchange; noble gases; bubbles
• ISSN: 1941-1405; 1941-0611
• DOI: 10.1146/annurev-marine-121916-063604

Natural mechanisms in the ocean, both physical and biological, concentrate carbon in the deep ocean, resulting in lower atmospheric carbon dioxide. The signals of these carbon pumps overlap to create the observed carbon distribution in the ocean, making the individual impact of each pump difficult to disentangle. Noble gases have the potential to directly quantify the physical carbon solubility pump and to indirectly improve estimates of the biological organic carbon pump. Noble gases are biologically inert, can be precisely measured, and span a range of physical properties. We present dissolved neon, argon, and krypton data spanning the Atlantic, Southern, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans. Comparisons between deep-ocean observations and models of varying complexity enable the rates of processes that control the carbon solubility pump to be quantified and thus provide an important metric for ocean model skill. Noble gases also provide a powerful means of assessing air-sea gas exchange parameterizations.