Assessment of the CO2 fluxes between the ocean and the atmosphere in the eastern part of the Laptev Sea in the ice-free period

The carbonate system of waters of the inner, middle, and outer shelves was studied for a long period in the eastern part of the Laptev Sea. It is shown that the inner and middle shelves is a heterotrophic province and is a source of CO 2 to the atmosphere during August–September. The average CO 2 flux is 7.9 mmol m –2 day –1 and during one month waters of inner and middle shelves release into the atmosphere up to 0.7 Tg of carbon (C). The outer part of the shelf absorbs up to ~0.1 Tg C at an average rate of 3.9 mmol m –2 day –1 during the month. Generally, the ice-free zone of the eastern shelf of the Laptev Sea is a source of CO 2 in the studied season: the amount of C released into the atmosphere within a month is ~0.6 Tg.