Estimating the Absolute Salinity of Chinese offshore waters using nutrients and inorganic carbon data

Abstract

Abstract. In June 2009, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO released The international thermodynamic equation of seawater – 2010 (TEOS-10 for short; IOC et al., 2010) to define, describe and calculate the thermodynamic properties of seawater. Compared to the Equation of State-1980 (EOS-80 for short), the most obvious change with TEOS-10 is the use of Absolute Salinity as salinity argument, replacing the Practical Salinity used in the oceanographic community for 30 years. Due to the lack of observational data, the applicability of the potentially increased accuracy in Absolute Salinity algorithms for coastal and semi-enclosed seas is not very clear to date. Here, we discuss the magnitude, distribution characteristics, and formation mechanism of Absolute Salinity and Absolute Salinity Anomaly in Chinese shelf waters, based on the Marine Integrated Investigation and Evaluation Project of the China Sea and other relevant data. The Absolute Salinity SA ranges from 0.1 to 34.66 g kg−1. Instead of silicate, the main composition anomaly in the open sea, CaCO3 originating from terrestrial input and re-dissolution of shelf sediment is most likely the main composition anomaly relative to SSW and the primary contributor to the Absolute Salinity Anomaly δSA. Finally, relevant suggestions are proposed for the accurate measurement and expression of Absolute Salinity of the China offshore waters.