Md. Degrandpre et al., SIMULTANEOUS MOORING-BASED MEASUREMENTS OF SEAWATER CO2 AND O-2 OFF CAPE-HATTERAS, NORTH-CAROLINA, Limnology and oceanography, 42(1), 1997, pp. 21-28
We deployed CO2 and O-2 sensors on the U.S. continental shelf off Cape
Hatteras, North Carolina, during late summer 1994. A continuous 32-d
gas record was obtained at 20 m in 25 m of water, below the thermoclin
e for most of the period. Analysis of the correlation between CO2 and
O-2 indicates that biological and advective processes dominated the ga
s variability, with small or insignificant fluxes due to air-sea excha
nge, vertical eddy diffusion, and carbonate dissolution or formation.
The observed O-2:CO2 correlation was 1.39, within the range predicted
for the photosynthetic quotient. Photosynthesis and respiration appear
ed to be tightly coupled, resulting in no net community production in
these waters during the late summer. It is evident from these results
that the combination of mooring-based CO2 and O-2 measurements will be
a powerful tool for studying the marine carbon cycle.