Carbon dioxide in Arctic and subarctic regions. Progress report for FY 82

The objectives are to identify and quantify the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide in the polar regions. Results indicate the Arctic is a net annual sink of as much as 1.1 x 10/sup 15/ g of CO/sub 2/, that natural sources and sinks within the Arcticc are the cause of up to 20 to 40% of the observed large annual excursions of atmospheric CO/sub 2/ there, that the Arcti is exchanging more than 2 x 10/sup 15/ g of CO/sub 2/ throughout the entire year, and that the porous annual sea ice will allow for the air-sea exchange of CO/sub 2/. (ACR

Annual sea ice. An air-sea gas exchange moderator

Arctic annual sea ice, particularly when it is relatively warm (> -15/sup 0/C) permits significant gas exchange between the sea and air throughout the entire year. Sea ice, particularly annual sea ice, differs from freshwater ice with respect to its permeability to gases. The presence of brine allows for significant air-sea-ice exchange of CO/sub 2/ throughout the winter, which may significantly affect the global carbon dioxide balance. Other trace gases are also noted to be enriched in sea ice, but less is known about their importance to air-sea-interactions at this time. Both physical and biological factors cause and modify evolution of gases from the surface of sea ice. Quantitative and qualitative descriptions of the nature and physical behavior of sea ice with respect to brine and gases are discussed