Ocean Acidification: Present Conditions and Future Changes in a High-CO2 World

Feely, Richard A.; Doney, Scott C.; Cooley, Sarah R.

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2009.95

Cited by 881 publications

(615 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Globally, the changes in the period 2020-2100 are sufficient to reverse or compensate for the changes since the pre-industrial period (1850). However, spatially in some regions such as equatorial upwelling, an important area of global fisheries (Chavez et al, 2003), AOA in fact leads to higher values of aragonite saturation state and pH than the ocean experienced in the pre-industrial period (Feely et al, 2009). We can only speculate on the potential impact of a reduction in aqueous CO 2 and elevated pH levels on marine biota in these regions.…”

Section: Ocean Acidification Responsementioning

confidence: 95%

Assessing carbon dioxide removal through global and regional ocean alkalinization under high and low emission pathways

et al. 2018

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Abstract. Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels continue to rise, increasing the risk of severe impacts on the Earth system, and on the ecosystem services that it provides. Artificial ocean alkalinization (AOA) is capable of reducing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations and surface warming and addressing ocean acidification. Here, we simulate global and regional responses to alkalinity (ALK) addition (0.25 PmolALK yr −1 ) over the period 2020-2100 using the CSIRO-Mk3L-COAL Earth System Model, under high (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5; RCP8.5) and low (RCP2.6) emissions. While regionally there are large changes in alkalinity associated with locations of AOA, globally we see only a very weak dependence on where and when AOA is applied. On a global scale, while we see that under RCP2.6 the carbon uptake associated with AOA is only ∼ 60 % of the total, under RCP8.5 the relative changes in temperature are larger, as are the changes in pH (140 %) and aragonite saturation state (170 %). The simulations reveal AOA is more effective under lower emissions, therefore the higher the emissions the more AOA is required to achieve the same reduction in global warming and ocean acidification. Finally, our simulated AOA for 2020-2100 in the RCP2.6 scenario is capable of offsetting warming and ameliorating ocean acidification increases at the global scale, but with highly variable regional responses.

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Section: Ocean Acidification Responsementioning

confidence: 95%

Assessing carbon dioxide removal through global and regional ocean alkalinization under high and low emission pathways

et al. 2018

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“…Also, as differences between measured and predicted values are noted and examined, differences in O 2 :CO 2 : T:S relationships may be diagnostic, providing information on processes driving change in the carbon system that might not have been easily identified by pH (or W arag ) observations. The addition of anthropogenic CO 2 will also cause the slope of the underlying O 2 :CO 2 relationships in the algorithm to change; however, based on the observed trends [i.e., −0.0018/ yr and −0.0076/yr; Feely et al, 2009], it would take ∼10 years for pH and W arag to drift outside of the algorithm uncertainty limits. Thus, the decadal-scale repeat hydrography occupations (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[2] Long-term trends in ocean acidity, a direct consequence of anthropogenic CO 2 uptake, have been predicted and documented globally [e.g., Caldeira and Wickett, 2003;Orr et al, 2005;Feely et al, 2009], but natural variations in ocean carbon chemistry on shorter timescales (i.e., daily, seasonal, interannual) are still poorly understood throughout much of the ocean. The advent of new pH sensors [Seidel et al, 2008;Martz et al, 2010] and developing technologies for determination of a second carbon system parameter (R. H. Byrne et al, Sensors and systems for observations of marine CO 2 system variables, 2009, OceanObs09 community white paper, available at http://www.oceanobs09.net/blog/?p=253) will ultimately shed light on short-term variability, but currently these options have limited long-term, autonomous profiling capability.…”

Section: Monitoring Ocean Acidificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-time estimation of pH and aragonite saturation state from Argo profiling floats: Prospects for an autonomous carbon observing strategy

Juranek¹,

Feely

Gilbert

et al. 2011

Geophys. Res. Lett.

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[1] We demonstrate the ability to obtain accurate estimates of pH and carbonate mineral saturation state (W) from an Argo profiling float in the NE subarctic Pacific. Using hydrographic surveys of the NE Pacific region, we develop empirical algorithms to predict pH and W using observations of temperature (T) and dissolved O 2 . We attain R 2 values greater than 0.98 and RMS errors of 0.018 (pH), 0.052 (W arag ), and 0.087 (W calc ) for data between 30-500 m, s < 27.1. After calibrating optode-based O 2 data, we apply the algorithms to T and O 2 data from an Argo profiling float to produce a 14 month time-series of estimated pH and W arag in the upper water column of the NE subarctic Pacific. Comparison to independent data collected nearby in 2010 indicates pH and W arag estimates are robust. Although the method will not allow detection of anthropogenic trends in pH or W arag , this approach will provide insight into natural variability and the key biogeochemical controls on these parameters. Most importantly, this work demonstrates that an assemblage of well-calibrated regional algorithms and Argo float data can be used as a low-cost, readily-deployable component of a global ocean carbon observing strategy.

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“…The oceans have taken up approximately 28% of the total amount of CO 2 produced by human activities over this time-frame [1][2][3], causing a variety of chemical changes known as ocean acidification (OA). The process of OA has reduced the average surface ocean pH by about 0.1 and is expected to reduce average pH by another 0.3 units by the end of this century [4,5]. The rapid change in ocean chemistry is faster than at any time over the past 50 Myr [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limacina helicinashell dissolution as an indicator of declining habitat suitability owing to ocean acidification in the California Current Ecosystem

et al. 2014

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Few studies to date have demonstrated widespread biological impacts of ocean acidification (OA) under conditions currently found in the natural environment. From a combined survey of physical and chemical water properties and biological sampling along the Washington-Oregon-California coast in August 2011, we show that large portions of the shelf waters are corrosive to pteropods in the natural environment. We show a strong positive correlation between the proportion of pteropod individuals with severe shell dissolution damage and the percentage of undersaturated water in the top 100 m with respect to aragonite. We found 53% of onshore individuals and 24% of offshore individuals on average to have severe dissolution damage. Relative to preindustrial CO 2 concentrations, the extent of undersaturated waters in the top 100 m of the water column has increased over sixfold along the California Current Ecosystem (CCE). We estimate that the incidence of severe pteropod shell dissolution owing to anthropogenic OA has doubled in near shore habitats since pre-industrial conditions across this region and is on track to triple by 2050. These results demonstrate that habitat suitability for pteropods in the coastal CCE is declining. The observed impacts represent a baseline for future observations towards understanding broader scale OA effects.

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Ocean Acidification: Present Conditions and Future Changes in a High-CO2 World

Cited by 881 publications

References 12 publications

Assessing carbon dioxide removal through global and regional ocean alkalinization under high and low emission pathways

Assessing carbon dioxide removal through global and regional ocean alkalinization under high and low emission pathways

Real-time estimation of pH and aragonite saturation state from Argo profiling floats: Prospects for an autonomous carbon observing strategy

Limacina helicinashell dissolution as an indicator of declining habitat suitability owing to ocean acidification in the California Current Ecosystem

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