APPROPRIATE TREATMENT OF UNCERTAINTY AND AMBIGUITY; A FLEXIBLE SYSTEM FOR CLIMATOLOGICAL CALCULATIONS IN RESPONSE TO AN ON-GOING DEBATE ON THE TRANSFER VELOCITY, K.

摘要

Air-sea fluxes of gases, including carbon dioxide, arerncommonly calculated using an air-sea flux equation.rnWithin this equation, fluxes are proportional to arntransfer velocity, k. We can use Earth observation or inrnsitu data for the calculation of the fluxes, only if wernadopt a suitable algorithm that typically describes therndependence of k on wind speed and water temperature.rnUnfortunately, appropriate algorithms for the transferrnvelocity of carbon dioxide are debated. Since there is arnlarge body of data, but the perceived information isrncontradictory, more data is unlikely to resolve therndebate swiftly. This ambiguity poses a dilemma forrnestimation of fluxes and their uncertainty. A twofoldrnapproach is adopted. Firstly, we examine critically bothrnalgorithms and outline an alternative more mechanisticrnapproach. Secondly, we construct an open system forrnthe calculation of air-sea fluxes that enables a veryrnbroad range of algorithms to be applied.