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From what I've read, the ocean overturning rate is about 1000 years now, and it has been as long as 3000 - 4000 years in the past. Also seen that scientists are discovering new mechanisms for transferring surface waters to deeper layers, including fingering, and evidence for giant eddies across the bottoms of the oceans.
Fingering is when warm surface waters penetrate deep into lower layers of water, bringing heat and CO2 from the surface down at a faster than expected rate. The evidence for giant eddies comes from life at hydrothermal vents separated by hundreds or thousands of miles. When a vent has a massive or explosive eruption that kills all life in the area, the vents rebuild without life. Examination of species at these vents after life has returned shows that at least some vents have been colonized by life from other vents great distances away. The only way this could happen is through currents along the ocean floors. And since the ocean floor is far from flat, these currents must cause mixing of different layers as they flow over seafloor hills and mountains and down into chasms.
Finally, we have evidence that heat is being transferred into the deeper waters, see reference, and if currents are carrying water with extra heat, they must be carrying CO2 also.
The ratio between the carbon dioxide in the ocean and carbon dioxide in the air at equilibrium is determined by Henry's Law.
p = k c
Where p is the partial pressure of the gas in question, k is the partition coefficient and c is the concentration of the gas dissolved in the ocean. For carbon dioxide, the partition coefficient is a function of temperature and pH.
Since there is much more carbon dioxide in the ocean than in the atmosphere, if the ratio actually achieved equilibrium, the carbon dioxide in the air would have little impact on the carbon dioxide in the ocean. But carbon dioxide takes a very long time to reach equilibrium between the ocean and the atmosphere. That is one reason why there is a long lag between temperature and carbon dioxide in the ice core samples. The other is oxidation of methane. which, at the initiation of the cooling phase, stops being released by the tundra and from methane hydrates.
Yes. The depths have much higher pressure than the surface and carbon dioxide is more soluble in water at high pressure than it is at low pressure. But carbon dioxide concentration in the ocean only varies slightly with depth.
There is a lot more CO2 in the oceans than in the air, but it mixes very slowly there and this means that most of the CO2 humans put in the air (mainly from burning fossil fuels) stays there for many centuries before eventually being absorbed by oceans. Carbon from CO2 also gets into plants and rocks, but on a smaller scale and over a much longer time frame.
For your follow-up question(s), I recommend being more specific as to whether you are interested in stock or flow. I am not sure about temperature or partial pressure but I don't think either has a great effect on either the stock of CO2 in or flows of CO2 into/out of oceans, at least not on an AGW-for-the-next-century time scale.
the creatures living at the oceans can also govern the amount of CO2 in oceans.
The Sun, basically.
Quote by Madhav L. Khandekar, UN scientist, a retired Environment Canada scientist: "Unfortunately, the IPCC climate change documents do not provide an objective assessment of the earth's temperature trends and associated climate change….As one of the invited expert reviewers for the 2007 IPCC documents, I have pointed out the flawed review process used by the IPCC scientists in one of my letters. I have also pointed out in my letter that an increasing number of scientists are now questioning the hypothesis of Greenhouse gas induced warming of the earth's surface and suggesting a stronger impact of solar variability and large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns on the observed temperature increase than previously believed."
Quote by John Takeuchi, meteorologist: “The atmosphere has periodic warming and cooling cycles. The sun is the primary source of energy impacting the earth's surface. That energy heats the land and the seas, which then warm the air above them. Water vapor and other gases in the atmosphere also affect temperature....Oceans are the main repository for CO2. They release CO2 as their temperature rises - just like your beer. This strongly suggests that warming oceans - heated by the sun - are a major contributor to CO2 in the atmosphere.”
irrelevant to mine and most peoples live but i agree with you
Another big factor is forest fires, it is a surprising fact that charcoal can be dissolved and by streams and rivers find its way to our oceans.
http://www.macroevolution.net/charcoal.h...
I assume that it is a combination of the ocean temperature at or just below the surface, and the partial pressure of CO2 in the atmosphere above.
Is this correct?
Are there any other factors?
... and how are they linked?
I have some follow up questions, but for now, I need to know that I am thinking along the right lines.
So what can you tell me about the factors that govern the amount of CO2 stored in the oceans?
