Observed changes in ocean acidity and carbon dioxide exchange in the coastal Bay of Bengal – a link to air pollution

V. V. S. S. Sarma; M. S. Krishna; Y. S. Paul; V. S. N. Murty

doi:10.3402/tellusb.v67.24638

Observed changes in ocean acidity and carbon dioxide exchange in the coastal Bay of Bengal – a link to air pollution

Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology

Volume 67 (2015): Issue 1

By: V. V. S. S. Sarma, M. S. Krishna, Y. S. Paul and V. S. N. Murty

Open Access

|Jan 2015

Abstract

Variations in surface water hydrographic properties and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) were evaluated in the coastal Bay of Bengal using observations carried out during March–April 1991 and 2011, including 8 yr monthly time-series observations during 2005 and 2013. The coastal Bay of Bengal is characterised by relatively fresher, more basic and lower pCO₂ in 1991 compared to 2011. The rates of decrease in pH, increase in DIC and pCO₂ per decade were consistent with global trends in the southwestern (SW) coastal Bay of Bengal, whereas rates in the northwestern (NW) coastal Bay of Bengal were observed to be 3–5 times higher. The associated recent increase in sulphate and nitrogen aerosol loadings over NW Bay of Bengal from the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Southeast Asia during winter and spring may be mainly responsible for the increased acidity in recent years. Thus, this region, which was previously considered to be a significant sink for atmospheric CO₂, now seems to have become a source of CO₂ to the atmosphere.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v67.24638 | Journal eISSN: 1600-0889

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Language: English

Page range: 24638 - 24638

Submitted on: Apr 13, 2014

Accepted on: Dec 21, 2014

Published on: Jan 1, 2015

Published by: Stockholm University Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

CO₂ flux,

© 2015 V. V. S. S. Sarma, M. S. Krishna, Y. S. Paul, V. S. N. Murty, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 67 (2015): Issue 1