Air-Sea Gas Exchange and CO 2 Fluxes in a Tropical Coral Reef Lagoon

David T. Ho, Eric H. De Carlo, Peter Schlosser

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Coral reefs are found predominately in tropical and subtropical areas and are sites of active carbon cycling. Knowledge of gas transfer velocities is necessary for carbon cycle studies in coral reef environments, and past studies in these environments have used wind speed/gas exchange parameterizations intended for the open ocean. In order to determine the relationship between wind speed and gas exchange, and to assess the suitability of open ocean wind speed/gas exchange parameterizations for this environment, two 3 He/SF 6 tracer release experiments were conducted during two separate years in a tropical coral reef lagoon in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The results show that because water depth is relatively deep in much of Kaneohe Bay, some parameterizations intended for the open ocean can be used to predict gas transfer velocities in that environment. The bay was a source of CO 2 to the atmosphere during both studies, and the residence times of water in the bay during the two studies differed by a factor of two.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)8701-8713
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
Volume123
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2018

Keywords

  • CO
  • coral reefs
  • gas exchange
  • tracers

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oceanography
  • Geophysics
  • Geochemistry and Petrology
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Space and Planetary Science

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