Data on dynamics of the carbonate system and CO2 fluxes in the air–ocean system on the western shelf of the Chukchi Sea before the ice formation are presented. The study was conducted on the research vessel Akademik Oparin in October 2023. It is established that the variability of water carbonate characteristics and CO2 fluxes was mainly controlled by the atmospheric impact and related water dynamics rather than biological or thermal factors. As a result of works, the parameters of the carbonate system of the Siberian Coastal Current (SCC) on the western shelf of the Chukchi Sea in the late autumn are characterized for the first time. It is shown that the SCC supplied the shelf with waters more acidic and corrosive to calcium carbonate reducing the potential of CO2 absorption in the current zone. It is found that the shelf area was a sink for atmospheric CO2 with average and maximal absorption rates of 9.78 ± 7.59 and 29.03 mmol m–2 day–1, respectively.
Pipko et al. (Sun,) studied this question.