Ocean acidification in emission-driven temperature stabilization scenarios: the role of TCRE and non-CO 2 greenhouse gases

• Published in: Environmental Research Letters
• Main Authors: Terhaar, Jens, Frölicher, Thomas L, Joos, Fortunat
• Other Authors: Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: IOP Publishing 2023
• Subjects: Ocean acidification
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acaf91; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acaf91; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acaf91/pdf

Abstract Future ocean acidification mainly depends on the continuous ocean uptake of CO 2 from the atmosphere. The trajectory of future atmospheric CO 2 is prescribed in traditional climate projections with Earth system models, leading to a small model spread and apparently low uncertainties for projected acidification, but a large spread in global warming. However, climate policies such as the Paris Agreement define climate targets in terms of global warming levels and as traditional simulations do not converge to a given warming level, they cannot be used to assess uncertainties in projected acidification. Here, we perform climate simulations that converge to given temperature levels using the Adaptive Emission Reduction Algorithm (AERA) with the Earth system model Bern3D-LPX at different setups with different Transient Climate Response to cumulative carbon Emissions (TCRE) and choices between reductions in CO 2 and non-CO 2 forcing agents. With these simulations, we demonstrate that uncertainties in surface ocean acidification are an order of magnitude larger than the usually reported inter-model uncertainties from simulations with prescribed atmospheric CO 2 . Uncertainties in acidification at a given stabilized temperature are dominated by TCRE and the choice of emission reductions of non-CO 2 greenhouse gases (GHGs). High TCRE and relatively low reductions of non-CO 2 GHGs, for example, necessitate relatively strong reductions in CO 2 emissions and lead to relatively little ocean acidification at a given temperature level. The results suggest that choices between reducing emissions of CO 2 versus non-CO 2 agents should consider the economic costs and ecosystem damage of ocean acidification.