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Projects > A - C > ARGAU

Preferred term

ARGAU  

Definition

  • The main hypothesis of the ARGAU program is that the Southern Atlantic Ocean would be the ocean reacting the faster and more intensely to the climatic change induced by the anthropogenic atmospheric CO2 increase. To evidence these changes, ARGAU, a long term (10 years) program based on oceanographic cruises (summer and winter, from Buenos Aires to the Weddell Sea) onboard the Argentinean Icebreaker ? Almirante Irizar ? is carried out. In order to describe, explain and model the trend and variability of CO2 fluxes in this area at various time scale, the physico-chemical characterization of the different water masses is being studied together with the biological communities present in the water column, within a multidisciplinary approach. The first two cruises were carried out between 20 March and 14 May, 2000 (ARGAU Zero) and 2 January-15 April, 2001 (ARGAU 1). Different frontal structures are revealed by sea surface temperature and sea surface salinity gradients: The Patagonian frontal shelf, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Malvinas cyclonic current. The results of both cruises suggest that major part of the southwest Atlantic Ocean appears as a CO2 sink. The strongest sink areas were found around the Antarctic Peninsula (at 68?W) with a DPCO2 of -80ppm. This strong sink is correlated to the highest fluorimetric signal and chlorophyll-a concentration (around 4 mg.m-3) and relatively low nitrate and phosphate concentrations (10 and 0.8 ?g.l-1 respectively). This could be explained by a bloom of Dactyliosolen antarcticus (Castracane). The second strong sink observed at 56.5?W with a DPCO2 of -40ppm is associated to the coldest temperature (-1.8?C). (en)

Broader concept

URI

https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/40f91183-5b08-410a-9dad-b02748c3c340

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