A multi-decadal delay in the onset of corrosive ‘acidified’ waters in the Ross Sea of Antarctica due to strong air-sea CO 2 disequilibrium

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: McNeil, Ben, Tagliabue, Alessandro, Sweeney, Colm
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces; environment; Antarctic; Ross Sea; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03200988; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03200988/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03200988/file/2010GL044597.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL044597

International audience Antarctic coastal waters have an abundance of marine organisms that secrete the mineral aragonite for growth and survival. Increasing oceanic anthropogenic CO 2 uptake will push these waters to a point whereby aragonite will start to geochemically corrode, with direct consequences for the Antarctic ecosystem. Here we combine surface CO 2 data in the Ross Sea, Antarctica with a regional ocean/sea-ice model to better pinpoint the timing of corrosive conditions. Our analysis suggests sea-ice cover and deep-water entrainment during winter results in 65% lower storage of anthropogenic CO 2 in comparison to atmospheric CO 2 equilibrium. This means that instead of corrosive 'acidified' waters beginning as early as the winter of 2015, anthropogenic CO 2 disequilibrium delays its onset by up to 30 years, giving this Antarctic marine ecosystem a several decade reprieve to corrosive conditions. Our results demonstrate a broader importance of understanding natural oceanic carbon cycle variability for the onset of corrosive conditions. Citation: McNeil, B. I., A. Tagliabue, and C. Sweeney (2010), A multi-decadal delay in the onset of corrosive 'acidified' waters in the Ross Sea of Antarctica due to strong air-sea CO 2 disequilibrium