Quantification of pCO2 and CO2 Gas Exchange in the Bhitarkanika Estuary, East Coast of India

Abstract

Estuaries are defined as a transition zone at the land-sea interface, and is characterized by strong geochemical gradient due to the mixing of fresh and saline water. It represents a unique biogeochemical setting where fate of carbon has been modified drastically due to large scale variation in different physio-chemical properties. Estuaries, despite their comparatively small surface area, it serves as an important component of the global carbon cycle. It has been found that estuaries play an important role in modulating the global CO2 budget. Wide variation of CO2 flux has been observed depending on the environmental setting of an estuary. Therefore, it is important to estimate the pCO2 and CO2 fluxes in different estuaries on a spatial and temporal scale. In this work, an attempt has been made to evaluate the variation of pCO2 and CO2 flux at air-water interface in the Bhitarkanika estuary which is formed by the Brahmani and Baitarani rivers that drain into the Bay of Bengal.