Dr Toni Padin
Instituto de Investigacions Mariñas,Vigo, Spain
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Topic: Biological effect on air-sea CO2 fluxes as measured by eddy covarianceand IFM-GEOMAR (Report)
Host: Brian Ward,National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
Date of STSM: 01/032010 to 31/05/2010
STSM code: 5886
The understanding of the ocean CO2 uptake from the atmosphere is vital for predicting the behaviour of the global carbon cycle, especially in a changing climate system. In this sense, there is an international effort to carry out extensive in situ measurements using different equipments and platforms. Most of these devices measure the CO2 partial pressure gradient between atmosphere and ocean before estimating the CO2 fluxes, but this methodology is subject to substantial errors due to the uncertainties associated with the wind effect on the estimation of gas transfer velocity. The Eddy Covariance method (EC) directly measures the air-sea CO2 flux and resolves gas transfer velocity variability.
The STSM gave me the opportunity to visit the laboratory of Dr Brian Ward during 3 months (from 8th March to 4th June 2010) at the National University of Ireland in Galway. Dr Ward studies CO2 dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean using different instruments, including the EC method, within an ambitious project.