Preindustrial to modern interdecadal variability in coral reef pH

The oceans are becoming more acidic due to absorption of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems is unclear, but it will likely depend on species adaptability and the rate of change of seawater pH relative to its natural variability. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Pelejero, Carles, Calvo, Eva, McCulloch, Malcolm, Marshall, Jerry, Gagan, Michael, Lough, Janice, Opdyke, Bradley
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Subjects:
Keywords: Carbon dioxide
Earth atmosphere
Ecosystems
Oscillations
pH effects
Seawater
Acidification
Coral reef
Marine ecosystems
Absorption
boron
carbon dioxide
isotope
sea water
marine ecosys
Pacific
Ocean acidification
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1885/84158
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1113692
Description
Summary:The oceans are becoming more acidic due to absorption of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems is unclear, but it will likely depend on species adaptability and the rate of change of seawater pH relative to its natural variability. To constrain the natural variability in reef-water pH, we measured boron isotopic compositions in a ≃300-year-old massive Porites coral from the southwestern Pacific. Large variations in pH are found over ≃50-year cycles that covary with the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation of ocean-atmosphere anomalies, suggesting that natural pH cycles can modulate the impact of ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems.

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