The marine inorganic carbon system along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the United States: Insights from a transregional coastal carbon study

• DOI: 10.4319/lo.2013.58.1.0325
• Publication Date: 2013-01-10T15:52:32Z
• Authors: Zhaohui Aleck Wang; Rik Wanninkhof; Wei-Jun Cai; Robert H. Byrne; Xinping Hu; Tsung-Hung Peng; Wei-Jen Huang
• Keywords: Alkalinity; Biogeochemical Cycle; Total inorganic carbon

Distributions of total alkalinity (TA), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and other parameters relevant to the marine system were investigated in shelf adjacent ocean waters during a U.S. Gulf Mexico East Coast Carbon cruise July–August 2007. TA exhibited near‐conservative behavior with respect salinity. Shelf concentrations generally high southern (Gulf Florida) decreased northward from Georgia Maine. DIC was less variable geographically strongly nonconservative behavior. As result, ratio northward. The spatial patterns CO 2 closely followed those : ratio. All sampled supersaturated aragonite (saturation state Ω A > 1). most intensely buffered (Ω 5.0) northern river‐plume waters; least < 1.3) deep Due their relatively low pH, , buffer intensity, northeastern shelves may be more susceptible acidification pressures than are counterparts. In Mid‐Atlantic Bight, alongshore mixing tended increase southward, but this effect largely offset by opposing effects biogeochemical processing. Mexico, downstream increases Loop Current suggested significant contributions gulf waters, estimated at 9.1 × 10 9 mol C d −1 . Off southeastern U.S., along‐flow chemical changes Florida dominated associated North Atlantic subtropical recirculation.