Abstract:

The Bering Sea, in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean, represents a typical area of transition from a
sub-Arctic ecosystem to an Arctic ecosystem. The study of its CO₂ sources and sinks will provide an important
reference for high-latitude continental margin regions. Within the context of global warming, the Bering
Sea is undergoing climatic and environmental changes. The effects of these changes on both the CO₂ sources
and sinks and the related biogeochemical processes of the area are considerable. This paper summarizes the
CO₂ sources and sinks and their control mechanisms in the Bering Sea, describes the tendencies of those
CO₂ sources and sinks, and predicts their future prospects. Previous studies have argued that the Bering Sea
acts as a sink for atmospheric CO₂ but the results have been notably varied. Recent studies have reported that
the CO₂ sinks on the Bering shelf and in the entire Bering Sea are about −6.81×1012g C·a^-1 and −34×1012g
C·a⁻¹, respectively. However, if climatic and environmental changes continue to intensify in the future, conditions
that could result in a decrease or in an increase in the magnitude of the CO₂ sink might exist simultaneously.
Therefore, it remains inconclusive whether the function of the Bering Sea as a carbon sink will be
enhanced or weakened in the future.

Key words: Bering Sea, climate and environmental changes, CO₂ sources and sinks, control factors