Korea Polar Research Institute, KOPDI

Research Activities > Major Topics > Physical Oceanography and Chemical Flux

The goal of this study is to understand the role of the Antarctic Polar Front and the Weddell Sea as a global carbon sink. To understand the sea-air CO2 exchange processes and to quantify the amount of CO2 gases exchanged across the air-sea interface in the Antarctic Ocean is the hot issues related to global warming and climate change.

Continual mea Yuzhmorgeologyia for the continual measurement of pCO2 both in the sea air and in the sea surface water from the southern tip of the South America, across the Drake Passage to the South Shetland Islands.

Sea surface temperature, salinity, pH, TCO2, TA, nutrients, and chlorophyll samples were also acquired along the whole cruise tracks of the first Korean CO2 cruise in the Antarctic Ocean.

Surface pCO2 was continually measured across the Polar Front in the Drake Passage during the 1998/1999 austral summer. Miami Group's flowing pCO2 system was installed in the R/V Yuzhmorgeologyia for the 1st Korean CO2 cruise in the Antarctic Ocean. Surface pCO2 values were automatically stored every 2 minute, while the values of sea air were measured automatically every 2 hour.

Sea surface temperature changed very fast when across the Polar Front around 56°S - 58°S, but salinity of the surface water showed almost constant values. While pCO2 did not change and showed constantly 350 ppm CO2 in the sea air, higher pCO2 in the surface water was observed in the most of the cruise areas except the Polar Frontal Zone and the southern shelf area of the South America.

This study is the first Korean CO2 study in the Antarctic Ocean, and the result could give a clue for the understanding of the role of the Antarctic Polar Front related to global change, and the Weddell Sea as one of the most important global carbon sink in the world.