The Recommended Dissociation Constants for Carbonic Acid in Seawater

Kitack Lee, Frank J. Millero, Robert H. Byrne, Richard A. Feely, Rik Wanninkhof

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A coherent representation of carbonate dissociation constants and measured inorganic carbon species is essential for a wide range of environmentally important issues such as oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO 2 and carbon cycle depictions in ocean circulation models. Previous studies have shown varying degrees of discordance between calculated and measured CO 2 -system parameters. It is unclear if this is due to errors in thermodynamic models or in measurements. In this work, we address this issue using a large field dataset (15,300 water samples) covering all ocean basins. Our field data, obtained using laboratory-calibrated measurement protocols, are most consistent with calculated parameters using the dissociation constants of Mehrbach et al. [1973] as refit by Dickson and Millero [1987]. Thus, these constants are recommended for use in the synthesis of the inorganic carbon data collected during the global CO 2 survey during the 1990s and for characterization of the carbonate system in seawater.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume27
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2000

Disciplines

  • Life Sciences

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