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A high concentration CO2 pool over the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool

R. Peter,J. Kuttippurath,K. Chakraborty,N. Sunanda

Published 2023 in Scientific Reports

ABSTRACT

Anthropogenic emissions have produced significant amount of carbon dioxide (CO_2) in the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial revolution. High levels of atmospheric CO_2 increases global temperature as CO_2 absorbs outgoing longwave radiation and re-emits. Though a well-mixed greenhouse gas, CO_2 concentration is not uniform in the atmosphere across different altitudes and latitudes. Here, we uncover a region of high CO_2 concentration (i.e. CO_2 pool) in the middle troposphere (500–300 hPa) over the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP, 40° E–140° W, 25° S–25° N), in which the CO_2 concentration is higher than that of other regions in the same latitude band (20° N–20° S), by using CO_2 satellite measurements for the period 2002–2017. This CO_2 pool extends from the western Pacific to the eastern Indian Ocean. Much of the CO_2 pool is over the western Pacific Ocean (74.87%), and the remaining lies over the eastern Indian Ocean (25.13%). The rising branch of Walker circulation acts as a “CO_2 Chimney” that constantly transports CO_2 released from the natural, human-induced and ocean outgassing processes to the middle and upper troposphere. The CO_2 pool evolves throughout the year with an average annual trend of about 2.17 ppm yr^−1, as estimated for the period 2003–2016. Our analysis further reveals that La Niña (El Niño) events strengthen (weaken) the CO_2 pool in the mid-troposphere. The radiative forcing for the CO_2 pool suggests more warming in the region and is a grave concern for global warming and climate change.

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