The Effect of Breaking Waves on CO2 Air–Sea Fluxes in the Coastal Zone

• Published in: Boundary-layer meteorology 2018, Vol.168 (2), p.343-360
• Main Authors: Gutiérrez-Loza, Lucía, Ocampo-Torres, Francisco J., García-Nava, Héctor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Meteorology; Research Article
• ISSN: 0006-8314; 1573-1472
• DOI: 10.1007/s10546-018-0342-x

The influence of wave-associated parameters controlling turbulent CO 2 fluxes through the air–sea interface is investigated in a coastal region. A full year of high-quality data of direct estimates of air–sea CO 2 fluxes based on eddy-covariance measurements is presented. The study area located in Todos Santos Bay, Baja California, Mexico, is a net sink of CO 2 with a mean flux of - 1.3 μ mol m - 2 s - 1 ( - 41.6 mol m - 2 yr - 1 ). The results of a quantile-regression analysis computed between the CO 2 flux and, (1) wind speed, (2) significant wave height, (3) wave steepness, and (4) water temperature, suggest that the significant wave height is the most correlated parameter with the magnitude of the flux but the behaviour of the relation varies along the probability distribution function, with the slopes of the regression lines presenting both positive and negative values. These results imply that the presence of surface waves in coastal areas is the key factor that promotes the increase of the flux from and into the ocean. Further analysis suggests that the local characteristics of the aqueous and atmospheric layers might determine the direction of the flux.