Seasonal effects on the air-water carbon dioxide exchange in the Hooghly estuary, NE coast of Bay of Bengal, India

Monthly variation of CO2 fugacity (f(CO2)) in surface water and related atmospheric exchanges were measured in the Hooghly estuary which is one of the most important estuaries, since it is fed by one of the world's largest rivers, the Ganges with a flow of 15 646 m(3) s(-1) (1.6% of the world's combined river flow). Carbon dioxide fluxes averaged over the entire estuary are in the range of -2.78 to 84.4 mmol m(-2) d(-1). This estuary acts as a sink for CO2 during monsoon months and seasonal variation of its flux is controlled by dilution of seawater by river water. Since the solubility of CO2 and the disassociation of carbonic acid in estuarine water are controlled by temperature and salinity, the observed variations of CO2 fluxes are compared with those predicted from seasonal changes in temperature, salinity and the ratio of gross primary production to community respiration using empirical equations with an explained variability of 55%.