Sea-Air CO₂ Fluxes and Implications

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is one of the main greenhouse gases and is emitted into the atmosphere primarily via the burning of fossil fuels and land use changes. Additionally, the division of carbon dioxide, both natural and anthropogenic, among the atmosphere, land, and the ocean, is known to be sensitive to climate variability. 

Since the beginning of the Industrial period (end of the 18th century), atmospheric CO₂ has increased from circa 280 ppmv to approximately 416 ppmv, i.e., an increase of 48%. This growth in atmospheric CO₂, however, is dampened by the land biosphere and ocean. However, the uptake of excess CO₂ by the ocean is lowering the seawater pH and the availability of carbonate ions that are essential to calcifying organisms, a process known as ocean acidification.

At present, there are several key questions to be answered concerning the ocean–atmosphere exchange of CO₂, including the processes controlling seasonal to decadal variability in its fluxes, the feedback between the ocean CO₂ sink and other climate change processes, the role of biological processes, and the quantification of the fluxes in the land–ocean continuum.

This Special Issue of Atmosphere is dedicated to papers addressing ocean–atmosphere CO₂ fluxes via observations, remote sensing and modelling studies, as well as the application of novel observing tools, platforms and future climate scenarios.

Dr. Letícia Cotrim da Cunha
Guest Editor

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• ocean carbon sink
• anthropogenic CO₂
• future ocean scenarios
• biological carbon pump
• physical-chemical processes