Sweeney
Colm
Sweeney
Colm
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ArticleGlobal ocean carbon uptake : magnitude, variability and trends(Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union, 2013-03-22) Wanninkhof, Rik ; Park, Geun-Ha ; Takahashi, Taro ; Sweeney, Colm ; Feely, Richard A. ; Nojiri, Yukihiro ; Gruber, Nicolas ; Doney, Scott C. ; McKinley, Galen A. ; Lenton, Andrew ; Le Quere, Corinne ; Heinze, Christoph ; Schwinger, Jorg ; Graven, Heather ; Khatiwala, SamarThe globally integrated sea–air anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) flux from 1990 to 2009 is determined from models and data-based approaches as part of the Regional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes (RECCAP) project. Numerical methods include ocean inverse models, atmospheric inverse models, and ocean general circulation models with parameterized biogeochemistry (OBGCMs). The median value of different approaches shows good agreement in average uptake. The best estimate of anthropogenic CO2 uptake for the time period based on a compilation of approaches is −2.0 Pg C yr−1. The interannual variability in the sea–air flux is largely driven by large-scale climate re-organizations and is estimated at 0.2 Pg C yr−1 for the two decades with some systematic differences between approaches. The largest differences between approaches are seen in the decadal trends. The trends range from −0.13 (Pg C yr−1) decade−1 to −0.50 (Pg C yr−1) decade−1 for the two decades under investigation. The OBGCMs and the data-based sea–air CO2 flux estimates show appreciably smaller decadal trends than estimates based on changes in carbon inventory suggesting that methods capable of resolving shorter timescales are showing a slowing of the rate of ocean CO2 uptake. RECCAP model outputs for five decades show similar differences in trends between approaches.
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ArticleSeasonal forcing of summer dissolved inorganic carbon and chlorophyll a on the western shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula(American Geophysical Union, 2010-03-30) Montes-Hugo, Martin ; Sweeney, Colm ; Doney, Scott C. ; Ducklow, Hugh W. ; Frouin, Robert ; Martinson, Douglas G. ; Stammerjohn, Sharon E. ; Schofield, Oscar M. E.The Southern Ocean is a climatically sensitive region that plays an important role in the regional and global modulation of atmospheric CO2. Based on satellite-derived sea ice data, wind and cloudiness estimates from numerical models (National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis), and in situ measurements of surface (0–20 m depth) chlorophyll a (ChlSurf) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DICSurf) concentration, we show sea ice concentration from June to November and spring wind patterns between 1979 and 2006 had a significant influence on midsummer (January) primary productivity and carbonate chemistry for the Western Shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula (WAP, 64°–68°S, 63.4°–73.3°W). In general, strong (>3.5 m s−1) and persistent (>2 months) northerly winds during the previous spring were associated with relatively high (monthly mean > 2 mg m−3) ChlSurf and low (monthly mean < 2 mmol kg−1) salinity-corrected DIC (DICSurf*) during midsummer. The greater ChlSurf accumulation and DICSurf* depletion was attributed to an earlier growing season characterized by decreased spring sea ice cover or nearshore accumulation of phytoplankton in association with sea ice. The impact of these wind-driven mechanisms on ChlSurf and DICSurf* depended on the extent of sea ice area (SIA) during winter. Winter SIA affected phytoplankton blooms by changing the upper mixed layer depth (UMLD) during the subsequent spring and summer (December–January–February). Midsummer DICSurf* was not related to DICSurf* concentration during the previous summer, suggesting an annual replenishment of surface DIC during fall/winter and a relatively stable pool of deep (>200 m depth) “winter-like” DIC on the WAP.
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ArticleSea–air CO2 fluxes in the Southern Ocean for the period 1990–2009(Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union, 2013-06-19) Lenton, Andrew ; Tilbrook, Bronte ; Law, R. M. ; Bakker, Dorothee C. E. ; Doney, Scott C. ; Gruber, Nicolas ; Ishii, Masao ; Hoppema, Mario ; Lovenduski, Nicole S. ; Matear, Richard J. ; McNeil, B. I. ; Metzl, Nicolas ; Mikaloff Fletcher, Sara E. ; Monteiro, Pedro M. S. ; Rodenbeck, C. ; Sweeney, Colm ; Takahashi, TaroThe Southern Ocean (44–75° S) plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle, yet remains one of the most poorly sampled ocean regions. Different approaches have been used to estimate sea–air CO2 fluxes in this region: synthesis of surface ocean observations, ocean biogeochemical models, and atmospheric and ocean inversions. As part of the RECCAP (REgional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes) project, we combine these different approaches to quantify and assess the magnitude and variability in Southern Ocean sea–air CO2 fluxes between 1990–2009. Using all models and inversions (26), the integrated median annual sea–air CO2 flux of −0.42 ± 0.07 Pg C yr−1 for the 44–75° S region, is consistent with the −0.27 ± 0.13 Pg C yr−1 calculated using surface observations. The circumpolar region south of 58° S has a small net annual flux (model and inversion median: −0.04 ± 0.07 Pg C yr−1 and observations: +0.04 ± 0.02 Pg C yr−1), with most of the net annual flux located in the 44 to 58° S circumpolar band (model and inversion median: −0.36 ± 0.09 Pg C yr−1 and observations: −0.35 ± 0.09 Pg C yr−1). Seasonally, in the 44–58° S region, the median of 5 ocean biogeochemical models captures the observed sea–air CO2 flux seasonal cycle, while the median of 11 atmospheric inversions shows little seasonal change in the net flux. South of 58° S, neither atmospheric inversions nor ocean biogeochemical models reproduce the phase and amplitude of the observed seasonal sea–air CO2 flux, particularly in the Austral Winter. Importantly, no individual atmospheric inversion or ocean biogeochemical model is capable of reproducing both the observed annual mean uptake and the observed seasonal cycle. This raises concerns about projecting future changes in Southern Ocean CO2 fluxes. The median interannual variability from atmospheric inversions and ocean biogeochemical models is substantial in the Southern Ocean; up to 25% of the annual mean flux, with 25% of this interannual variability attributed to the region south of 58° S. Resolving long-term trends is difficult due to the large interannual variability and short time frame (1990–2009) of this study; this is particularly evident from the large spread in trends from inversions and ocean biogeochemical models. Nevertheless, in the period 1990–2009 ocean biogeochemical models do show increasing oceanic uptake consistent with the expected increase of −0.05 Pg C yr−1 decade−1. In contrast, atmospheric inversions suggest little change in the strength of the CO2 sink broadly consistent with the results of Le Quéré et al. (2007).
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ArticleAtmospheric carbon dioxide variability in the Community Earth System Model : evaluation and transient dynamics during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries(American Meteorological Society, 2013-07-01) Keppel-Aleks, Gretchen ; Randerson, James T. ; Lindsay, Keith ; Stephens, Britton B. ; Moore, J. Keith ; Doney, Scott C. ; Thornton, Peter E. ; Mahowald, Natalie M. ; Hoffman, Forrest M. ; Sweeney, Colm ; Tans, Pieter P. ; Wennberg, Paul O. ; Wofsy, Steven C.Changes in atmospheric CO2 variability during the twenty-first century may provide insight about ecosystem responses to climate change and have implications for the design of carbon monitoring programs. This paper describes changes in the three-dimensional structure of atmospheric CO2 for several representative concentration pathways (RCPs 4.5 and 8.5) using the Community Earth System Model–Biogeochemistry (CESM1-BGC). CO2 simulated for the historical period was first compared to surface, aircraft, and column observations. In a second step, the evolution of spatial and temporal gradients during the twenty-first century was examined. The mean annual cycle in atmospheric CO2 was underestimated for the historical period throughout the Northern Hemisphere, suggesting that the growing season net flux in the Community Land Model (the land component of CESM) was too weak. Consistent with weak summer drawdown in Northern Hemisphere high latitudes, simulated CO2 showed correspondingly weak north–south and vertical gradients during the summer. In the simulations of the twenty-first century, CESM predicted increases in the mean annual cycle of atmospheric CO2 and larger horizontal gradients. Not only did the mean north–south gradient increase due to fossil fuel emissions, but east–west contrasts in CO2 also strengthened because of changing patterns in fossil fuel emissions and terrestrial carbon exchange. In the RCP8.5 simulation, where CO2 increased to 1150 ppm by 2100, the CESM predicted increases in interannual variability in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes of up to 60% relative to present variability for time series filtered with a 2–10-yr bandpass. Such an increase in variability may impact detection of changing surface fluxes from atmospheric observations.
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ArticleMesoscale modulation of air-sea CO2 flux in Drake Passage(John Wiley & Sons, 2016-09-10) Song, Hajoon ; Marshall, John C. ; Munro, David R. ; Dutkiewicz, Stephanie ; Sweeney, Colm ; McGillicuddy, Dennis J. ; Hausmann, UteWe investigate the role of mesoscale eddies in modulating air-sea CO2 flux and associated biogeochemical fields in Drake Passage using in situ observations and an eddy-resolving numerical model. Both observations and model show a negative correlation between temperature and partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) anomalies at the sea surface in austral summer, indicating that warm/cold anticyclonic/cyclonic eddies take up more/less CO2. In austral winter, in contrast, relationships are reversed: warm/cold anticyclonic/cyclonic eddies are characterized by a positive/negative pCO2 anomaly and more/less CO2 outgassing. It is argued that DIC-driven effects on pCO2 are greater than temperature effects in austral summer, leading to a negative correlation. In austral winter, however, the reverse is true. An eddy-centric analysis of the model solution reveals that nitrate and iron respond differently to the same vertical mixing: vertical mixing has a greater impact on iron because its normalized vertical gradient at the base of the surface mixed layer is an order of magnitude greater than that of nitrate.