Variability of the carbonate system parameters in the coast-shelf zone of the East Siberian Sea during the autumn season

The publication presents the results of the studies on the carbonate system of the waters of the East Siberian Sea performed aboard R/V Ivan Kireev in September 2003–2004. It is shown that the aquatic area considered may be subdivided into two biohydrochemical provinces. The western part of the sea is a CO 2 supplier to the atmosphere, while its eastern part is a sink for CO 2 . This is caused by the fact that the western part of the East Siberian Sea was affected by the waters of the southeastern part of the Laptev Sea, which were desalinated by riverine runoff, turbid, and enriched in the bioactive organic matter supplied into the water due to the coastal (and bottom) erosion. In the eastern part, cold waters of Pacific origin prevailed (saline, transparent, and productive), which caused a pronounced decrease in the partial pressure of CO 2 ( p CO 2 ) in the surface layer. In the frontal zone delimiting the desalinated shelf waters and those of the Pacific origin, the direction of the CO 2 flux between the atmosphere and the sea changed (from evasion to invasion). The interannual variability of the carbonate system parameters in the coastal-shelf zone of the East Siberian Sea was determined by the intensity of the propagation of the waters of different origins over the sea aquatic area caused by the atmospheric circulation, as well as by the riverine runoff intensity and the dynamics of erosion processes.