Global reduction of in situ CO₂ transfer velocity by natural surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer

For decades, the effect of surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer (SML) on gas transfer velocity (k) has been recognized; however, it has not been quantified under natural conditions due to missing coherent data on in situ k of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and characterization of the SML. Moreover, a sea-surface phenomenon of wave-dampening, known as slicks, has been observed frequently in the ocean and potentially reduces the transfer of climate-relevant gases between the ocean and atmosphere. Therefore, this study aims to quantify the effect of natural surfactant and slicks on the in situ k of CO₂. A catamaran, Sea Surface Scanner (S³), was deployed to sample the SML and corresponding underlying water, and a drifting buoy with a floating chamber was deployed to measure the in situ k of CO₂. We found a significant 23% reduction of k above surfactant concentrations of 200 μg Teq l−1, which were common in the SML except for the Western Pacific. We conclude that an error of approximately 20% in CO₂ fluxes for the Western Pacific is induced by applying wind-based parametrization not developed in low surfactant regimes. Furthermore, we observed an additional 62% reduction in natural slicks, reducing global CO₂ fluxes by 19% considering known frequency of slick coverage. From our observation, we identified surfactant concentrations with two different end-members which lead to an error in global CO₂ flux estimation if ignored.