Objectif
A prototype North Atlantic ocean CO2 observing system of regular basin-wide surface pCO2, atmospheric CO2 concentrations and related measurements using ships of opportunity will be established. Existing observations of ocean CO2 will be used to inform the interpolation of these data to the entire ocean basin. We will use recent advances in the understanding of gas exchange to reliably estimate flux from pCO2 observations. CAVASSOO will provide greatly improved estimates of the uptake of CO2 by the North Atlantic, how this varies regionally, seasonally and from year to year. These will be used to improve estimates of European and North American terrestrial (vegetation) sinks, using atmospheric inverse modelling techniques. The combination of basin-wide observation and modelling in this project will help to reconcile the differing estimates of the net CO2 flux over Europe and North America, an important element in the EU' s response to the Kyoto agreement.