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The sub-Antarctic zone (SAZ) lies between the subtropical convergence (STC) and the sub-Antarctic front (SAF), and is considered one of the strongest oceanic sinks of atmospheric CO2. The strong sink results from high winds and seasonally low sea surface fugacities of CO2 (fCO2), relative to atmospheric fCO2. The region of the SAZ, and immediately south, is also subject to mode and intermediate water formation, yielding a penetration of anthropogenic CO2 below the mixed layer. A detailed analysis of continuous measurements made during the same season and year, February — March 1993, shows a coherent pattern of fCO2 distributions at the eastern (WOCE/SR3 at about 145°E) and western edges (WOCE/I6 at 30°E) of the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. A strong CO2 sink develops in the Austral summer (ΔfCO2 μ - 50 μatm) in both the eastern (110°-150°E) and western regions (20°-90°E). The strong CO2 sink in summer is due to the formation of a shallow seasonal mixed-layer (about 100 m). The CO2 drawdown in the surface water is consistent with biologically mediated drawdown of carbon over summer. In austral winter, surface fCO2 is close to equilibrium with the atmosphere (ΔfCO2 ± 5 μatm), and the net CO2 exchange is small compared to summer. The near-equilibrium values in winter are associated with the formation of deep winter mixed-layers (up to 700 m). For years 1992–95, the annual CO2 uptake for the Indian Ocean sector of the sub Antarctic Zone (40°-50°S, 20°-150°E) is estimated to be about 0.4 GtC yr-1. Extrapolating this estimate to the entire sub-Antarctic zone suggests the uptake in the circumpolar SAZ is approaching 1 GtC yr-1.
Metzl et al. (1999) studied this question.