Projects

Global Ocean Flux of CO2

The Scenario

Accurate measurements of pCO2  in the surface ocean are essential for determining the spatial and temporal distributions of ocean sources and sinks for anthropogenic CO2. To acquire these measurements, the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) Science Plan called for “seeding the oceans with pCO2  sensors”. A powerful additional means of measuring surface water pCO2  is offered through making underway measurements from ships of opportunity as these ships conduct normal operations.


The Challenge

To make accurate underway measurements of surface water pCO2  with a system that is rugged, self-contained and suitable for maintenance by crew members.


The Solution

Dr. David Hydes and his group at NOC, Southampton, U.K. installed an instrumented flow-through stainless steel tank, pressurized to 80 psi, in the engine room of the M.V. Pacific Celebes. The onboard instruments included a GTD-Pro™, a CO2-Pro™, two oxygen optodes and conductivity and temperature sensors. In operation, measurements are made continuously while the ship is underway, and the data are sent via satellite back to the NOC lab. To date, the M.V. Pacific Celebes has collected surface water data on repeated transects around the globe, and on multiple transects from Australia, New Zealand and Vancouver.


Summary

Dr. David Hydes and his group at NOC, Southampton chose the CO2-Pro™ and GTD-Pro™ to instrument their flow-through tank on-board the MV Pacific Celebes in order to make surface water measurements underway on global ocean transects.

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