Evidence for Upwelling of Corrosive "Acidified" Water onto the Continental Shelf

The absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into the ocean lowers the pH of the waters. This so-called ocean acidification could have important consequences for marine ecosystems. To better understand the extent of this ocean acidification in coastal waters, we conducted hydrographic survey...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Feely, Richard A., Sabine, Christopher L., Hernandez-Ayon, J. Martin, Ianson, Debby, Hales, Burke
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2008
Subjects:
Canada
Ocean acidification
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1155676
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1155676
Description
Summary:The absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into the ocean lowers the pH of the waters. This so-called ocean acidification could have important consequences for marine ecosystems. To better understand the extent of this ocean acidification in coastal waters, we conducted hydrographic surveys along the continental shelf of western North America from central Canada to northern Mexico. We observed seawater that is undersaturated with respect to aragonite upwelling onto large portions of the continental shelf, reaching depths of ∼40 to 120 meters along most transect lines and all the way to the surface on one transect off northern California. Although seasonal upwelling of the undersaturated waters onto the shelf is a natural phenomenon in this region, the ocean uptake of anthropogenic CO 2 has increased the areal extent of the affected area.

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