Carbonate system in the subtropical Jiulong River Estuary and CO<sub>2</sub> flux estimation under modulation of tidal cycle

Weicong Chen; Heng Sun; Zhongyong Gao; Jiaming Lin; Min Xu; Aijun Wang; Shuqin Tao

doi:10.1007/s13131-024-2433-5

Volume 43 Issue 11

Nov. 2024

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Weicong Chen, Heng Sun, Zhongyong Gao, Jiaming Lin, Min Xu, Aijun Wang, Shuqin Tao. Carbonate system in the subtropical Jiulong River Estuary and CO2 flux estimation under modulation of tidal cycle[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2024, 43(11): 12-25. doi: 10.1007/s13131-024-2433-5

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Weicong Chen, Heng Sun, Zhongyong Gao, Jiaming Lin, Min Xu, Aijun Wang, Shuqin Tao. Carbonate system in the subtropical Jiulong River Estuary and CO₂ flux estimation under modulation of tidal cycle[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2024, 43(11): 12-25. doi: 10.1007/s13131-024-2433-5

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Carbonate system in the subtropical Jiulong River Estuary and CO₂ flux estimation under modulation of tidal cycle

doi: 10.1007/s13131-024-2433-5

Weicong Chen¹,
Heng Sun¹,
Zhongyong Gao^{1, 2
,
,},
Jiaming Lin²,
Min Xu²,
Aijun Wang^{3, 4, 5},
Shuqin Tao^{3, 4, 5}

1.
Key Laboratory of Global Change and Marine Atmospheric Chemistry, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
2.
School of Marine Biology, Xiamen Ocean Vocational College, Xiamen 361100, China
3.
Laboratory of Coastal and Marine Geology, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
4.
Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Physical and Geological Processes, Xiamen 361005, China
5.
Observation and Research Station of Island and Costal Ecosystem in the Western Taiwan Strait, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China

Funds: The Scientific Research Foundation of Third Institute of Oceanography, MNR under contract Nos. 2022001, 2020017, 2023008 and 2019018; the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China under contract No. 2023J01209; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 4237061213; the Fujian Science and Technology Innovation Leader Project.

More Information

Corresponding author: E-mail: gao@tio.org.cn
Received Date: 2023-11-10
Accepted Date: 2024-02-28

Available Online: 2024-11-27

Publish Date: 2024-11-25

Abstract

Abstract

Estuaries are often a significant source of atmospheric CO₂. However, studies of carbonate systems have predominantly focused on large estuaries, while smaller estuaries have scarcely been documented. In this study, we collected surface and bottom seawater carbonate samples in the subtropical Jiulong River Estuary across different tidal levels from 2019 to 2021. The results showed that estuarine mixing of freshwater from the river with seawater was the dominant factor influencing the estuarine carbonate system. Moreover, estuarine mixing is concomitantly impacted by the net metabolism of biological production and decomposition, groundwater input, release of CO₂ from the estuary, and precipitation or dissolution of calcium carbonate. The estuarine partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂) varied from 530 μatm to 7715 μatm, which represents a strong source of atmospheric CO₂. The mean annual air-sea CO₂ flux estimated from three different parameterized equations was approximately (25.63 ± 10.25) mol/(m²·a). Furthermore, the annual emission to the atmosphere was approximately (0.031 ± 0.012) Tg C, which accounts for a mere 0.0077%−0.015% of global estuarine emissions. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA) and the pCO₂ exhibited high variability throughout the tidal cycle across all cruises. Specifically, the disparities observed between DIC and TA during low and high tides at identical stations during all cruises ranged from approximately 15% to 30%. The variance in the pCO₂ was even more pronounced, ranging from approximately 30% to 40%. Thus, tidal discrepancies may need to be taken into consideration to estimate the CO₂ flux from estuarine systems more accurately.
- carbonate system,
- tidal cycle,
- estuarine mixing,
- Jiulong River Estuary

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References(53)

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