Frontiers in Marine Science (Dec 2022)

The increasing big gap of carbon sink between the western and eastern Pacific in the last three decades

  • Guorong Zhong,
  • Guorong Zhong,
  • Guorong Zhong,
  • Guorong Zhong,
  • Xuegang Li,
  • Xuegang Li,
  • Xuegang Li,
  • Xuegang Li,
  • Jinming Song,
  • Jinming Song,
  • Jinming Song,
  • Jinming Song,
  • Baoxiao Qu,
  • Baoxiao Qu,
  • Baoxiao Qu,
  • Fan Wang,
  • Fan Wang,
  • Fan Wang,
  • Fan Wang,
  • Yanjun Wang,
  • Yanjun Wang,
  • Bin Zhang,
  • Bin Zhang,
  • Detong Tian,
  • Detong Tian,
  • Detong Tian,
  • Detong Tian,
  • Jun Ma,
  • Jun Ma,
  • Jun Ma,
  • Huamao Yuan,
  • Huamao Yuan,
  • Huamao Yuan,
  • Huamao Yuan,
  • Liqin Duan,
  • Liqin Duan,
  • Liqin Duan,
  • Liqin Duan,
  • Ning Li,
  • Ning Li,
  • Ning Li,
  • Ning Li,
  • Qidong Wang,
  • Qidong Wang,
  • Qidong Wang,
  • Jianwei Xing,
  • Jianwei Xing,
  • Jianwei Xing

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1088181
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

Read online

The Pacific Ocean is one of the important carbon sink regions, and there is a significant west-east difference in sea-air CO2 flux. However, the influence of the long-standing greater CO2 uptakes in the western Pacific than in the east and the dynamic change of this west-east difference remain unclear. In this paper, using the gridded surface ocean pCO2 product constructed by the stepwise FFNN algorithm, we reported an increasing west-east CO2 flux difference from 0.41 PgC yr-1 in 1992 to 0.73 PgC yr-1 in 2020. This increase was mainly attributed to the strengthening western Pacific carbon sink and relatively stable eastern Pacific carbon source. During El Nino events, the west-east CO2 flux difference decreased significantly in a few years, and it then rose back rapidly when El Nino events ended. In addition, the increasing west-east difference in CO2 uptakes during the last three decades did not lead to a higher acidification speed in the western surface temperate Pacific than the east. The greater CO2 absorbed in the west was mainly transported to the deeper waters and caused a more significant carbon inventory change at 200-600 m than the eastern Pacific.

Keywords