Ocean Science
Ocean Science
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Articles | Volume 22, issue 3
Articles | Volume 22, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1781-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1781-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 22, issue 3
Research article
 | 
03 Jun 2026
Research article |  | 03 Jun 2026

Sea ice melt drives vertical pCO2 variability modulating air–sea gas exchange

Henry C. Henson, Dorte H. Søgaard, Bjarne Jensen, Kunuk Lennert, Tim Papakyriakou, Mikael K. Sejr, Jakob Sievers, Søren Rysgaard, and Lise Lotte Sørensen

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Ahmed, M. M. M., Else, B. G. T., Capelle, D., Miller, L. A., and Papakyriakou, T.: Underestimation of surface pCO2 and air-sea CO2 fluxes due to freshwater stratification in an Arctic shelf sea, Hudson Bay, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 8, 084, https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.084, 2020. 
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Bates, N. R. and Mathis, J. T.: The Arctic Ocean marine carbon cycle: evaluation of air-sea CO2 exchanges, ocean acidification impacts and potential feedbacks, Biogeosciences, 6, 2433–2459, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-6-2433-2009, 2009. 
Burgers, T. M., Miller, L. A., Thomas, H., Else, B. G. T., Gosselin, M., and Papakyriakou, T.: Surface Water CO2 Variations and Sea-Air CO2 Fluxes During Summer in the Eastern Canadian Arctic, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 122, 9663–9678, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017jc013250, 2017. 
Butterworth, B. J., Else, B. G. T., Brown, K. A., Mundy, C. J., Williams, W. J., Rotermund, L. M., and de Boer, G.: Annual carbon dioxide flux over seasonal sea ice in the Canadian Arctic, The Cryosphere, 19, 5317–5335, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5317-2025, 2025. 
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Sea ice melt adds less-saline water to the surface ocean. This creates vertical gradients in salinity, temperature, and partial pressures of carbon dioxide (pCO2). The concentration difference of pCO2 across the air-ocean boundary is used to estimate gas transfer. Thus, the depth that we measure will impact our estimates. Similar patterns were observed in multiple Arctic fjords years apart, suggesting these vertical gradients may be common during the spring melt season.

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