The role of midlatitude storms on air-sea exchange of CO2

Abstract

Hurricanes influence the local rates of air-sea CO2 exchange. Changes in fCO2w, the fugacity of CO2 in bulk water, result from storm-induced sea surface temperature (SST) changes and from upwelling. Using numerical studies and comparing recent formulations for the gas transfer velocity kL, we discuss the impact of Hurricane Gustav (2002) on fCO2w and air-sea CO2 exchange. We show that Gustav resulted in enhanced CO2 flux, with the maximum occurring at the storm's peak intensity. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.