Author:
Geilfus N.-X.,Tison J.-L.,Ackley S. F.,Rysgaard S.,Miller L. A.,Delille B.
Abstract
Abstract. Temporal evolution of pCO2 profiles in sea ice in the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica, in October 2007 shows that the CO2 system in the ice was primarily controlled by physical and thermodynamic processes. During the survey, a succession of warming and cold events strongly influenced the physical, chemical and thermodynamic properties of the ice cover. Two sampling sites with contrasting characteristics of ice and snow thickness were sampled: one had little snow accumulation (from 8 to 25 cm) and larger temperature and salinity variations than the second site, where the snow cover was up to 38 cm thick and therefore better insulated the underlying sea ice. We confirm that each cooling/warming event was associated with an increase/decrease in the brine salinity, total alkalinity (TA), total dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2), and in situ brine and bulk ice CO2 partial pressures (pCO2). Thicker snow covers muted these changes, suggesting that snow influences changes in the sea ice carbonate system through its impact on the temperature and salinity of the sea ice cover. During this survey, pCO2 was undersaturated with respect to the atmosphere both in situ, in the bulk ice (from 10 to 193 μatm), and in the brine (from 65 to 293 μatm), and the ice acted as a sink for atmospheric CO2 (up to 2.9 mmol m−2 d−1), despite the underlying supersaturated seawater (up to 462 μatm).
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