Simple relationships between pCO2 and SST like developed for the Caribbean will not apply everywhere in the ocean. pCO2 is dependent on water mass, mixed layer depth and productivity amongst other things. Exploratory studies are underway to determine which factors have predictive capabilities for which regions.
Salinity is one such factor. Salinity is a good indicator of water mass such that is can be used as a demarcation tool. Moreover, there are strong correlations between salinity and alkalinity. Alkalinity has a direct effect on pCO2 such that by using salinity-alkalinity relationships we will be able to determine its effect on pCO2 variability.
We will thus determine relationships between salinity and pCO2 along the cruise tracks and then use the salinity fields to extrapolate the pCO2 data.
The salinity fields are derived from melding data from thermosalinographs from VOS, CTD's from research ships and profiling floats. The project is funded through an agreement with NOAA/GFDL (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory). The data can be selected by monthly maps from the panel at the left.
