Variations of fCO(2) and air-sea flux of CO2 in the Greenland Sea gyre using high-frequency time series data from CARIOCA drift buoys

A 6 month, high-frequency (hourly) time series of fCO(2) and sea surface te mperature measured by CARIOCA drift buoys in the Greenland Sea gyre is pres ented. The fCO(2) shows the effects of photosynthetic activity in the summe r, with fCO(2) values as low as 260 mu atm, followed by an increase to appr oximately 310 mu atm in the late fall and winter due to mixing with CO2 - r ich deep water from below, remineralization, and gas exchange. The time ser ies shows that fCO(2) in the Greenland Sea gyre is undersaturated with resp ect to the atmosphere year-round, having an average Delta fCO(2) of -71 mu atm. Linear correlations between the measured fCO(2) normalized to a consta nt temperature of -1 degrees C and sea surface temperature (SST) are used t o construct high-resolution fCO(2) and air-sea CO2 flux maps for the Greenl and Sea gyre area using SST and wind speed data from the European Centre fo r Medium-Range Weather Forecasting and ice information from the Special Sen sor Microwave/Imager on a 0.5 degrees x 0.5 degrees grid. The CO2 flux for the Greenland Sea gyre calculated for 1996-1997 considering the effects of blockage of gas exchange by sea ice is estimated to be -2.4 to -4.2 x 10(12 ) g C y(-1) depending on the gas exchange parameterization used.