David Estupiñán Santana, estudiante del Grado
en Ciencias del Mar de la Facultad de Ciencias del Mar de la Universidad de Las
Palmas de Gran Canaria, ha presentado su Trabajo Final de Grado, el cual ha
sido dirigido por los investigadores del grupo QUIMA, Melchor González Dávila y
J. Magdalena Santana Casiano.
En este TFG se ha estudiado el patrón estacional del dióxido de carbono en el periodo de Marzo 2019 y Abril 2021, a través de medidas realizadas a bordo del Benchijigua Express de la compañía Fred Olsen Express.
El trabajo ha
sido realizado en el marco del convenio público-privado CanBIO, entre el
Gobierno de Canarias y la Fundación Loro Parque, y forma parte de la Red de
Observaciones del Sistema del Dióxido de Carbono y la Acidificación Oceánica
(CARBOCAN).
El resumen del trabajo es el siguiente:
The seasonal pattern of the
carbon dioxide (CO2) system was studied in
the Canary Islands western region for the period March 2019 - April 2021,
using data collected by a Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS). Observed
seasonal changes in the seawater CO2 fugacity
were closely associated with temperature variations, which were reflected in
the thermodynamic/non-thermodynamic ratio values. At the same time, the
periods of total dissolved inorganic carbon decrease and increase between
March–October and October–December, respectively, were studied. The net
community production was the dominant component in this area, suggesting
the primary production and the sequestration of dissolved inorganic carbon
by the biological community have high relevance in this region, despite
the exchange and vertical entrainment components were also important. The
western-insular waters of the Canary archipelago presented a
marked seasonal pattern in the air-sea CO2 fluxes, behaving
the system as a strong source during summer (2.81 ± 0.79
mmol m-2 d-1)
and as a sink during winter (-1.37 ± 0.42 mmol m-2 d-1). The
flux variability was mainly controlled by the wind speed between La Gomera
– Tenerife and by the ΔfCO2 between
La Palma – Tenerife transect. The annual average emission for the
whole region was estimated at 35.93 ± 15.93 Tg CO2 yr-1.
