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Thomalla SJ, Du Plessis M, Fauchereau N, Giddy I, Gregor L, Henson S, Joubert WR, Little H, Monteiro PMS, Mtshali T, Nicholson S, Ryan-Keogh TJ, Swart S. Southern Ocean phytoplankton dynamics and carbon export: insights from a seasonal cycle approach. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 2023; 381:20220068. [PMID: 37150201 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2022.0068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Quantifying the strength and efficiency of the Southern Ocean biological carbon pump (BCP) and its response to predicted changes in the Earth's climate is fundamental to our ability to predict long-term changes in the global carbon cycle and, by extension, the impact of continued anthropogenic perturbation of atmospheric CO2. There is little agreement, however, in climate model projections of the sensitivity of the Southern Ocean BCP to climate change, with a lack of consensus in even the direction of predicted change, highlighting a gap in our understanding of a major planetary carbon flux. In this review, we summarize relevant research that highlights the important role of fine-scale dynamics (both temporal and spatial) that link physical forcing mechanisms to biogeochemical responses that impact the characteristics of the seasonal cycle of phytoplankton and by extension the BCP. This approach highlights the potential for integrating autonomous and remote sensing observations of fine scale dynamics to derive regionally optimized biogeochemical parameterizations for Southern Ocean models. Ongoing development in both the observational and modelling fields will generate new insights into Southern Ocean ecosystem function for improved predictions of the sensitivity of the Southern Ocean BCP to climate change. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Heat and carbon uptake in the Southern Ocean: the state of the art and future priorities'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandy J Thomalla
- Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory, CSIR, Cape Town, South Africa
- Marine and Antarctic Research Centre for Innovation and Sustainability, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Marcel Du Plessis
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Göteburg, Sweden
| | - Nicolas Fauchereau
- The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Isabelle Giddy
- Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory, CSIR, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Luke Gregor
- Environmental Physics Group, ETH Zürich, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Hazel Little
- Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Pedro M S Monteiro
- Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory, CSIR, Cape Town, South Africa
- School for Climate Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Thato Mtshali
- Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Oceans and Coast, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Sarah Nicholson
- Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory, CSIR, Cape Town, South Africa
| | | | - Sebastiaan Swart
- Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Göteburg, Sweden
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Kuyper B, Say D, Labuschagne C, Lesch T, Joubert WR, Martin D, Young D, Khan MAH, Rigby M, Ganesan AL, Lunt MF, O'Dowd C, Manning AJ, O'Doherty S, Davies-Coleman MT, Shallcross DE. Atmospheric HCFC-22, HFC-125, and HFC-152a at Cape Point, South Africa. Environ Sci Technol 2019; 53:8967-8975. [PMID: 31251602 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b01612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
One hydrochlorofluorocarbon and two hydrofluorocarbons (HCFC-22, HFC-125, and HFC-152a) were measured in air samples at the Cape Point observatory (CPT), South Africa, during 2017. These data represent the first such atmospheric measurements of these compounds from southwestern South Africa (SWSA). Baseline atmospheric growth rates were estimated to be 8.36, 4.10, and 0.71 ppt year-1 for HCFC-22, HFC-125, and HFC-152a, respectively. The CPT measurements were combined with an inverse model to investigate emissions from SWSA. For all three halocarbons, Cape Town was found to be the dominant source within SWSA. These estimates were extrapolated, based on population statistics, to estimate emissions for the whole of South Africa. We estimate South Africa's 2017 emissions to be 3.0 (1.6-4.4), 0.8 (0.5-1.2), and 1.1 (0.6-1.6) Gg year-1 for HCFC-22, HFC-125, and HFC-152a, respectively. For all three halocarbons, South Africa's contribution to global emissions is small (<2.5%), but future monitoring is needed to ensure South Africa's compliance with regulation set out by the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett Kuyper
- Department of Chemistry , University of the Western Cape , Bellville 7535 , South Africa
| | - Daniel Say
- Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
| | - Casper Labuschagne
- Climate and Environmental Research and Monitoring , South African Weather Service , Stellenbosch 7600 , South Africa
| | - Timothy Lesch
- Department of Chemistry , University of the Western Cape , Bellville 7535 , South Africa
| | - Warren R Joubert
- Climate and Environmental Research and Monitoring , South African Weather Service , Stellenbosch 7600 , South Africa
| | - Damien Martin
- Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
- School of Physics, Ryan Institute's Centre for Climate and & Pollution Studies, and Marine Renewable Energy Ireland , National University of Ireland Galway , Galway H91 CF50 , Ireland
| | - Dickon Young
- Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
| | - M Anwar H Khan
- Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Rigby
- Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
| | - Anita L Ganesan
- School of Geographical Sciences , University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1SS , United Kingdom
| | - Mark F Lunt
- School of Geosciences , University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh EH9 3JW , United Kingdom
| | - Colin O'Dowd
- School of Physics, Ryan Institute's Centre for Climate and & Pollution Studies, and Marine Renewable Energy Ireland , National University of Ireland Galway , Galway H91 CF50 , Ireland
| | - Alistair J Manning
- Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
- Hadley Centre, The Met Office , Exeter EX1 3PB , United Kingdom
| | - Simon O'Doherty
- Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
| | | | - Dudley E Shallcross
- Department of Chemistry , University of the Western Cape , Bellville 7535 , South Africa
- Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, School of Chemistry , University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TS , United Kingdom
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregor T. Feig
- Natural Resources and the Environment, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Warren R. Joubert
- Natural Resources and the Environment, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa
- Cape Point GAW Station, Climate and Environmental Research and Monitoring, South African Weather Service, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Azwitamisi E. Mudau
- Natural Resources and the Environment, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Pedro M.S. Monteiro
- Natural Resources and the Environment, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa
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