Distribution of inorganic carbon and related parameters in surface seawater of the English Channel during spring 1994

The complete CO2 system, dissolved oxygen, nutrients and chlorophyll concentrations, fluorescence, salinity and temperature of surface seawater have been determined in the English Channel and the Southern Eight of the North Sea during Spring 1994. As already mentioned in a previous study, this area is characterized by important spatial and temporal variations of the considered set of parameters. This paper focuses on the distribution of the homogeneous buffer factor [beta = dln(pCO(2))/dln(TCO2)]. It is shown that this parameter is a useful tool for identifying processes that mainly affect the CO2 distribution, such as primary production or water mass mixing, even in such a complex area.