The variability and seasonal cycle of  the Southern Ocean carbon flux

Hsu, Wei-Ching

Title:

The variability and seasonal cycle of the Southern Ocean carbon flux

dc.contributor.advisor	Ito, Takamitsu
dc.contributor.author	Hsu, Wei-Ching
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Di Lorenzo, Emanuele
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Jones, Daniel
dc.contributor.department	Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
dc.date.accessioned	2013-09-20T13:26:31Z
dc.date.available	2013-09-20T13:26:31Z
dc.date.created	2013-08
dc.date.issued	2013-07-03
dc.date.submitted	August 2013
dc.date.updated	2013-09-20T13:26:31Z
dc.description.abstract	Both physical circulation and biogeochemical characteristics are unique in the Southern Ocean (SO) region, and are fundamentally different from those of the northern hemisphere. Moreover, according to previous research, the oceanic response to the trend of the Southern Annual Mode (SAM) has profound impacts on the future oceanic uptake of carbon dioxide in the SO. In other words, the climate and circulation of the SO are strongly coupled to the overlying atmospheric variability. However, while we have understanding on the SO physical circulation and have the ability to predict the future changes of the SO climate and physical processes, the link between the SO physical processes, the air-sea carbon flux, and correlated climate variability remains unknown. Even though scientists have been studying the spatial and temporal variability of the SO carbon flux and the associated biogeochemical processes, the spatial patterns and the magnitudes of the air-sea carbon flux do not agree between models and observations. Therefore, in this study, we utilized a modified version of a general circulation model (GCM) to performed realistic simulations of the SO carbon on seasonal to interannual timescales, and focused on the crucial physical and biogeochemical processes that control the carbon flux. The spatial pattern and the seasonal cycle of the air-sea carbon dioxide flux is calculated, and is broadly consistent with the climatological observations. The variability of air-sea carbon flux is mainly controlled by the gas exchange rate and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide, which is in turn controlled by the compensating changes in temperature and dissolved inorganic carbon. We investigated the seasonal variability of dissolved inorganic carbon based on different regional processes. Furthermore, we also investigated the dynamical adjustment of the surface carbon flux in response to the different gas exchange parameterizations, and conclude that parameterization has little impact on spatially integrated carbon flux. Our simulation well captured the SO carbon cycle variability on seasonal to interannual timescales, and we will improve our model by employ a better scheme of nutrient cycle, and consider more nutrients as well as ecological processes in our future study.
dc.description.degree	M.S.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1853/49079
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	Georgia Institute of Technology
dc.subject	Carbon flux
dc.subject	Southern Ocean
dc.subject	Seasonal cycle
dc.subject.lcsh	Antarctic Ocean
dc.subject.lcsh	Geological carbon sequestration
dc.subject.lcsh	Ocean circulation
dc.subject.lcsh	Atmospheric circulation
dc.subject.lcsh	Mathematical models
dc.subject.lcsh	Computer simulation
dc.title	The variability and seasonal cycle of the Southern Ocean carbon flux
dc.type	Text
dc.type.genre	Thesis
dspace.entity.type	Publication
local.contributor.advisor	Ito, Takamitsu
local.contributor.corporatename	School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
local.contributor.corporatename	College of Sciences
relation.isAdvisorOfPublication	30e6ccb4-19ad-4123-bdc9-ae8db3cf8a18
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	b3e45057-a6e8-4c24-aaaa-fb00c911603e
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	85042be6-2d68-4e07-b384-e1f908fae48a
thesis.degree.level	Masters