USGS Arctic Ocean Carbon Cruise 2011: Discrete Lab data

Models project the Arctic Ocean will become undersaturated with respect to carbonate minerals in the next decade. Recent field results indicate parts may already be undersaturated in late summer months when ice melt is at its greatest extent. However, few comprehensive data sets of carbonate system parameters in the Arctic Ocean exist. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and University of South Florida (USF) collected high-resolution measurements of pCO2, pH, total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA), and carbonate (CO3-2) from the Canada Basin that fill critical information gaps concerning Arctic carbon variability. A Multiparameter Inorganic Carbon Analyzer (MICA) was used to collect approximately 9,000 measurements of air and sea pCO2, pH, and DIC along a 11,447-km trackline in August and September 2011. In addition, over 500 discrete surface water samples were taken. These data are being used to characterize and model regional pCO2, pH, and carbonate mineral saturation state. A high-resolution, three-dimensional map of these results will be presented.

模型预测，北冰洋将在未来十年内出现碳酸盐矿物（carbonate minerals）不饱和状态。近期野外观测结果显示，在海冰融化范围达到峰值的夏末时节，北冰洋部分区域可能已处于不饱和状态。然而，目前针对北冰洋的碳酸盐系统参数（carbonate system parameters）的综合数据集仍较为匮乏。
来自美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey, USGS）与南佛罗里达大学（University of South Florida, USF）的研究人员，在加拿大海盆开展了高分辨率测量，覆盖二氧化碳分压（pCO2）、pH值、总溶解无机碳（total dissolved inorganic carbon, DIC）、总碱度（total alkalinity, TA）以及碳酸根（CO3-2）等参数，填补了北极碳循环变异研究中的关键信息空白。2011年8月至9月，研究团队借助多参数无机碳分析仪（Multiparameter Inorganic Carbon Analyzer, MICA），在总长11447公里的观测测线上，完成了约9000组大气与海水pCO2、pH值及总溶解无机碳的测量。此外，研究团队还采集了超过500份离散表层海水样本。
上述数据集正被用于表征区域pCO2、pH值及碳酸盐矿物饱和状态，并构建相应模型。研究团队将呈现基于该研究结果生成的高分辨率三维图谱。