Southern Ocean storms cause outgassing of carbon dioxide

Date:
January 25, 2022
Source:
University of Gothenburg
Summary:
Storms over the waters around Antarctica drive an outgassing of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a new international
study. The research group used advanced ocean robots for the study,
which provides a better understanding of climate change and can
lead to better global climate models.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Storms over the waters around Antarctica drive an outgassing of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a new international study with researchers from the University of Gothenburg. The research group used
advanced ocean robots for the study, which provides a better understanding
of climate change and can lead to better global climate models.


==========================================================================
The world's southernmost ocean, the Southern Ocean that surrounds
Antarctica, plays an important role in the global climate because its
waters contain large amounts of carbon dioxide. A new international study,
in which researchers from the University of Gothenburg participated,
has examined the complex processes driving air-sea fluxes of gasses,
such as carbon dioxide.

Storms bring carbon dioxide-rich waters to the surface The research group
is now delivering new findings that shed light on the area's important
role in climate change.

"We show how the intense storms that often occur in the region increase
ocean mixing and bring carbon dioxide-rich waters from the deep to the
surface. This drives an outgassing of carbon dioxide from the ocean to
the atmosphere. There has been a lack of knowledge about these complex processes, so the study is an important key to understanding the Southern Ocean's significance for the climate and the global carbon budget,"
says Sebastiaan Swart, professor of oceanography at the University of Gothenburg and co-author of the study.

Facilitates better climate models Half of all carbon dioxide bound in
the world's oceans is found in the Southern Ocean. At the same time,
climate change is expected to result in more intense storms in the
future. Therefore, it is vital to understand the storms' impact on
the outgassing of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the researchers
point out.

"This knowledge is necessary to be able to make more accurate predictions
about future climate change. Currently, these environmental processes
are not captured by global climate models," says Marcel du Plessis at
the University of Gothenburg, who also participated in the study.

Pioneering ocean robotics Measuring the inaccessible and stormy waters
around Antarctica for a long period of time is a real challenge, which
the researchers tackled with the help of unique robot technology. For
several months, autonomous ocean robots; drones and ocean gliders,
collected data from the surface and through to depths of one kilometer.

"This pioneering technology gave us the opportunity to collect data
with long endurance, which would not have been possible via a research
vessel. Thanks to these ocean robots we can now fill important knowledge
gaps and gain a better understanding of the importance of the ocean for
the climate, says Sebastiaan Swart.

The contributions to the study from University of Gothenburg have
been supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation through the Wallenberg Academy Fellows Program and the Swedish Research Council.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Gothenburg. Original
written by Ulrika Ernstro"m. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Sarah-Anne Nicholson, Daniel B. Whitt, Ilker Fer, Marcel D. du
Plessis,
Alice D. Lebe'hot, Sebastiaan Swart, Adrienne J. Sutton, Pedro M. S.

Monteiro. Storms drive outgassing of CO2 in the subpolar Southern
Ocean.

Nature Communications, 2022; 13 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27780-w ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220125112530.htm

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