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Calcium carbonate saturation states in the waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Labrador Sea

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Abstract
  • Ocean acidification is predicted to occur first in polar oceans. We investigated the saturation state of waters with respect to calcite (Wcal) and aragonite (Warg) in six sections along an Arctic outflow pathway through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) and into the northwestern Atlantic using dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity measurements from 2003 to 2005. The study area, a key region connecting the Arctic and the North Atlantic, includes Smith Sound, Barrow Strait, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Hudson Strait, and the Labrador Sea. The average Warg in the Arctic outflow was 1.18 ± 0.17 in Barrow Strait and 1.31 ± 0.14 in Smith Sound, with areas where Warg < 1. The Arctic outflow through the CAA has a high content of Pacific waters, which have a low saturation state. These waters can be traced along the western Baffin Bay to Davis Strait. South of Davis Strait, this outflow is modified by mixing with slope and offshore waters of Atlantic origin and with the outflow from Hudson Strait. Despite the mixing, low saturation state water can still be identified on the southern Labrador Shelf. The aragonite saturation horizon is found at ∼150 m in Barrow Strait; at 200 m in Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, and Hudson Strait; and at 2300 m in the Labrador Sea. This study provides baseline data of the saturation states for the waters of the CAA and the northwest Atlantic. It also illustrates the downstream evolution of low saturation state Arctic outflow in the northwest Atlantic.
  • Keywords: Labrador Sea, Calcium carbonate saturation state, Canadian arctic archipelago
  • Keywords: Labrador Sea, Calcium carbonate saturation state, Canadian arctic archipelago
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  • Azetsu‐Scott, K., A. Clarke, K. Falkner, J. Hamilton, E. P. Jones, C. Lee, B. Petrie, S. Prinsenberg, M. Starr, and P. Yeats (2010), Calcium carbonate saturation states in the waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Labrador Sea, J. Geophys. Res., 115, C11021, doi:10.1029/2009JC005917.
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  • 115
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  • This work was supported by Department of Fisheries and Oceans, International Governance Strategy program and N‐CAARE high priority fund. IPY‐Canada is also acknowledged for a support. K. Falkner acknowledges a support for the Healy 2003 mission of the Canadian Archipelago Throughflow Program from the Arctic Division of the Office of Polar Programs of the U.S. National Science Foundation under grant OPP‐00230354. C. Lee acknowledges a support by UW ASOF program (NSF‐OPP grant OPP0230381).
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