Assessment of the CO2 fluxes between the ocean and the atmosphere in the eastern part of the Laptev Sea in the ice-free period

Abstract

The carbonate system of waters of the inner, middle, and outer shelves was studied for a long period in the eastern part of the Laptev Sea. It is shown that the inner and middle shelves is a heterotrophic province and is a source of CO₂ to the atmosphere during August–September. The average CO₂ flux is 7.9 mmol m^–2 day^–1 and during one month waters of inner and middle shelves release into the atmosphere up to 0.7 Tg of carbon (C). The outer part of the shelf absorbs up to ~0.1 Tg C at an average rate of 3.9 mmol m^–2 day^–1 during the month. Generally, the ice-free zone of the eastern shelf of the Laptev Sea is a source of CO₂ in the studied season: the amount of C released into the atmosphere within a month is ~0.6 Tg.