Abstract:
Sea surface partial pressure of carbon dioxide (
pCO
2), atmospheric
pCO
2, and meteorological data (sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, wind speed, and pressure) were obtained via continuous underway shipboard measurement in the Taiwan Strait and its adjacent South China Sea and East China Sea during May (spring) and September (autumn) in 2014. The results showed that the mean sea surface
pCO
2 in spring and autumn were 387±16 μatm and 408±18 μatm, respectively. Sea surface
pCO
2 was primarily controlled by temperature. In addition, water masses mixing and other factors also have a certain impact on the variation of surface
pCO
2. In spring and autumn, the CO
2 degassing fluxes from the sea surface to the atmosphere were 0.11±1.60 and 2.51±1.10 mmol/(m
2·d), respectively. Sea surface
pCO
2 in the Taiwan Strait showed significant seasonal and spatial variations.