Accelerating CO<sub>2</sub> Outgassing in the Equatorial Pacific from Satellite Remote Sensing
The equatorial Pacific serves as the world’s largest oceanic source of CO<sub>2</sub>. The contrasting ocean environment in the eastern (i.e., upwelling) and western (i.e., warm pool) regions makes it difficult to fully characterize its CO<sub>2</sub> dynamics with limited in...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Yiwu Shang Jingyuan Xi Yi Yu Wentao Ma Shuangling Chen |
| author_facet | Yiwu Shang Jingyuan Xi Yi Yu Wentao Ma Shuangling Chen |
| author_sort | Yiwu Shang |
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| description | The equatorial Pacific serves as the world’s largest oceanic source of CO<sub>2</sub>. The contrasting ocean environment in the eastern (i.e., upwelling) and western (i.e., warm pool) regions makes it difficult to fully characterize its CO<sub>2</sub> dynamics with limited in situ observations. In this study, we addressed this challenge using monthly surface partial pressure of CO<sub>2</sub> (<i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw) and air-sea CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes (FCO<sub>2</sub>) data products reconstructed from satellite and reanalysis data at a spatial resolution of 1° × 1° in the period of 1982–2021. We found that during the very strong El Niño events (1997/1998, 2015/2016), both <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw and FCO<sub>2</sub> showed a significant decrease of 41–58 μatm and 0.5–0.8 mol·m<sup>−2</sup>·yr<sup>−1</sup> in the eastern equatorial Pacific, yet they remained at normal levels in the western equatorial Pacific. In contrast, during the very strong La Niña events (1999/2000, 2007/2008, and 2010/2011), both <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw and FCO<sub>2</sub> showed a strong increase of 40–48 μatm and 1.0–1.4 mol·m<sup>−2</sup>·yr<sup>−1</sup> in the western equatorial Pacific, yet with little change in the eastern equatorial Pacific. In the past 40 years, <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw in the eastern equatorial Pacific was increasing at a higher rate (2.32–2.51 μatm·yr<sup>−1</sup>) than that in the western equatorial Pacific (1.75 μatm·yr<sup>−1</sup>), resulting in an accelerating CO<sub>2</sub> outgassing (at a rate of 0.03 mol·m<sup>−2</sup>·yr<sup>−2</sup>) in the eastern equatorial Pacific. We comprehensively analyzed the potential effects of different factors, such as sea surface temperature, sea surface wind speed, and Δ<i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> in driving CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes in the equatorial Pacific, and found that Δ<i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> had the highest correlation (<i>R</i> ≥ 0.80, at <i>p</i> ≤ 0.05), highlighting the importance of accurate estimates of <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw from satellites. Further studies are needed to constrain the retrieval accuracy of <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw in the equatorial Pacific from satellite remote sensing. |
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| spelling | doaj-art-1ad6f62c6aae4b56971d053fa10550222025-01-24T13:47:52ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-01-0117224710.3390/rs17020247Accelerating CO<sub>2</sub> Outgassing in the Equatorial Pacific from Satellite Remote SensingYiwu Shang0Jingyuan Xi1Yi Yu2Wentao Ma3Shuangling Chen4State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, ChinaThe equatorial Pacific serves as the world’s largest oceanic source of CO<sub>2</sub>. The contrasting ocean environment in the eastern (i.e., upwelling) and western (i.e., warm pool) regions makes it difficult to fully characterize its CO<sub>2</sub> dynamics with limited in situ observations. In this study, we addressed this challenge using monthly surface partial pressure of CO<sub>2</sub> (<i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw) and air-sea CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes (FCO<sub>2</sub>) data products reconstructed from satellite and reanalysis data at a spatial resolution of 1° × 1° in the period of 1982–2021. We found that during the very strong El Niño events (1997/1998, 2015/2016), both <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw and FCO<sub>2</sub> showed a significant decrease of 41–58 μatm and 0.5–0.8 mol·m<sup>−2</sup>·yr<sup>−1</sup> in the eastern equatorial Pacific, yet they remained at normal levels in the western equatorial Pacific. In contrast, during the very strong La Niña events (1999/2000, 2007/2008, and 2010/2011), both <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw and FCO<sub>2</sub> showed a strong increase of 40–48 μatm and 1.0–1.4 mol·m<sup>−2</sup>·yr<sup>−1</sup> in the western equatorial Pacific, yet with little change in the eastern equatorial Pacific. In the past 40 years, <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw in the eastern equatorial Pacific was increasing at a higher rate (2.32–2.51 μatm·yr<sup>−1</sup>) than that in the western equatorial Pacific (1.75 μatm·yr<sup>−1</sup>), resulting in an accelerating CO<sub>2</sub> outgassing (at a rate of 0.03 mol·m<sup>−2</sup>·yr<sup>−2</sup>) in the eastern equatorial Pacific. We comprehensively analyzed the potential effects of different factors, such as sea surface temperature, sea surface wind speed, and Δ<i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> in driving CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes in the equatorial Pacific, and found that Δ<i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> had the highest correlation (<i>R</i> ≥ 0.80, at <i>p</i> ≤ 0.05), highlighting the importance of accurate estimates of <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw from satellites. Further studies are needed to constrain the retrieval accuracy of <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>sw in the equatorial Pacific from satellite remote sensing.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/2/247surface seawater <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>air-sea CO<sub>2</sub> fluxessatellite remote sensingequatorial Pacific |
| spellingShingle | Yiwu Shang Jingyuan Xi Yi Yu Wentao Ma Shuangling Chen Accelerating CO<sub>2</sub> Outgassing in the Equatorial Pacific from Satellite Remote Sensing Remote Sensing surface seawater <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> air-sea CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes satellite remote sensing equatorial Pacific |
| title | Accelerating CO<sub>2</sub> Outgassing in the Equatorial Pacific from Satellite Remote Sensing |
| title_full | Accelerating CO<sub>2</sub> Outgassing in the Equatorial Pacific from Satellite Remote Sensing |
| title_fullStr | Accelerating CO<sub>2</sub> Outgassing in the Equatorial Pacific from Satellite Remote Sensing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Accelerating CO<sub>2</sub> Outgassing in the Equatorial Pacific from Satellite Remote Sensing |
| title_short | Accelerating CO<sub>2</sub> Outgassing in the Equatorial Pacific from Satellite Remote Sensing |
| title_sort | accelerating co sub 2 sub outgassing in the equatorial pacific from satellite remote sensing |
| topic | surface seawater <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> air-sea CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes satellite remote sensing equatorial Pacific |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/2/247 |
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