SINKS AND SOURCES OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN: RESULTS OF DIRECT INSTRUMENTAL MEASUREMENTS

Abstract

The growing interest in the investigation of the carbon cycle in the Arctic region is caused, first of all, by the climatic changes that are best manifested in the northern latitudes as an increase in the annual mean air temperature, intensity of the atmospheric circulation, melting of permafrost and mountain glaciers, and scale of coastal erosion and river discharge, which finally lead to an increase in the greenhouse gases emission (carbon dioxide CO2 and methane CH4) from the northern ecosystems and intensification of global warming. Up to the present time, the eastern sector of the Russian Arctic seas (EAS), which includes the Laptev Sea, East Siberia Sea (ESS), and Chukchi Sea, was considered the least studied geographical region.