Influence of changing sea ice parameterisation on Southern Ocean carbon uptake and export production

The Southern Ocean (SO) plays a key role in global carbon and nutrient cycles, as the SO overturning circulation feeds into both deep-water formation (lower branch) and Subantarctic intermediate and mode water formation (upper branch). While the air-sea CO₂ balance is influenced mainly by deep-water formation, global export production is more sensitive to intermediate and mode water formation, giving rise to the concept of a SO biogeochemical divide [1]. Sea ice formation, transport and melting plays a prominent role in the transformation of buoyancy for both the upper and lower branches of the overturning circulation [2]. Hence, changes in sea ice parameterisation have potential for substantially altering carbon uptake and export production in global Earth System Models (ESMs).

Global ESMs seek to simulate physical, chemical and biological processes that are relevant for the evolution of global climate, including fluxes of greenhouse gasses and aerosols between the atmosphere and ocean. The air-sea gas exchange is determined by the difference in concentration across the air-sea interface, and a gas transfer velocity that is specific for the gas in question. However, the air-sea gas exchange is inhibited by the presence of sea ice. A modified formula proposed by Steiner et al. [3], accounting for cracks and leads in the sea ice, has recently been  implemented in the Norwegian Earth System Model NorESM2 [4]. In this study we investigate how the change in this sea ice parameterisation influences the carbon uptake and export production associated with the Southern Ocean overturning circulation.

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