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Air–Water CO2 Flux in Shallow Coastal Waters: Theory, Methods, and Empirical Studies

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Blue Carbon in Shallow Coastal Ecosystems

Abstract

The fact that the ocean is one of the largest sinks of atmospheric CO2 on Earth is an important consideration in the prediction of future climate changes and identification of possible mitigation strategies for global climate change. Recently, carbon storage in vegetated coastal habitats (blue carbon ecosystems) has been explored as a new option to mitigate climate change. However, the complexity of the mechanisms that control air–water CO2 fluxes in shallow coastal ecosystems has precluded their adequate quantification. Spatiotemporal extension of accurate values of these fluxes will be an important milestone for assessing the contribution of blue carbon ecosystems to mitigation of climate change. In this chapter, we explain the theoretical understanding of air–water CO2 fluxes and methods for their measurement. We then discuss results of empirical measurements of air–water CO2 fluxes in shallow coastal waters. We conclude that statistical analyses of augmented air–coastal-water CO2 flux data based on long-term measurements and multiple methods should lead to a quantitative understanding of the current status and future air–water CO2 fluxes in shallow coastal waters at national and global scales.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group, Port and Airport Research Institute, Yokosuka, Japan

    Tatsuki Tokoro, Kenta Watanabe, Kazufumi Tada & Tomohiro Kuwae

Authors
  1. Tatsuki Tokoro
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  2. Kenta Watanabe
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  3. Kazufumi Tada
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  4. Tomohiro Kuwae
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Correspondence to Tomohiro Kuwae .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group, Port and Airport Research Institute, Yokosuka, Japan

    Tomohiro Kuwae

  2. National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan

    Masakazu Hori

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Tokoro, T., Watanabe, K., Tada, K., Kuwae, T. (2019). Air–Water CO2 Flux in Shallow Coastal Waters: Theory, Methods, and Empirical Studies. In: Kuwae, T., Hori, M. (eds) Blue Carbon in Shallow Coastal Ecosystems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1295-3_6

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