Gas Exchange Rates Measured Using a Dual-Tracer ($SF_6$ and $^3He$) Method in the Coastal Waters of Korea

Over a period of 5 days between August 12 and 17, 2005, we performed a gas exchange experiment using the dual tracer method in a tidal coastal ocean located off the southern coast of Korea. The gas exchange rate was determined from temporal changes in the ratio of $^3He$ to $SF_6$ measured daily in the surface mixed layer. The measured gas exchange rate($k_{CO_2}$), normalized to a Schmidt number of 600 for $CO_2$ in fresh water at $20^{\circ}C$, was approximately $5.0\;cm\;h^{-1}$ at a mean wind speed of $3.9\;ms^{-1}$ during the study period. This value is significantly less than those obtained from floating chamber-based experiments performed previously in estuarine environments, but is similar in magnitude to values obtained using the dual tracer method in river and tidal coastal waters and values predicted on the basis of the relationship between the gas exchange rate and wind speed (Wanninkhof 1992), which is generally applicable to the open ocean. Our result is also consistent with the relationship of Raymond and Cole (2001), which was derived from experiments carried out in estuarine environments using $^{222}Rn$ and chlorofluorocarbons along with measurements undertaken in the Hudson River, Canada, using $SF_6$ and $^3He$. Our results indicate that tidal action in a microtidal region did not discernibly enhance the measured $k_{CO_2}$ value.