Historical reconstruction of ocean acidification in the Australian region
The ocean has become more acidic over the last 200 years in response increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels. Documenting how the ocean has changed is critical for assessing how these changes impact marine ecosystems and for the management of marine resources. Here we use present-day oc...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:bg30356 2023-05-15T17:50:13+02:00 Historical reconstruction of ocean acidification in the Australian region Lenton, Andrew Tilbrook, Bronte Matear, Richard J. Sasse, Tristan P. Nojiri, Yukihiro 2018-09-27 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1753-2016 https://www.biogeosciences.net/13/1753/2016/ eng eng doi:10.5194/bg-13-1753-2016 https://www.biogeosciences.net/13/1753/2016/ eISSN: 1726-4189 Text 2018 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1753-2016 2019-12-24T09:52:40Z The ocean has become more acidic over the last 200 years in response increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels. Documenting how the ocean has changed is critical for assessing how these changes impact marine ecosystems and for the management of marine resources. Here we use present-day ocean carbon observations, from shelf and offshore waters around Australia, combined with neural network mapping of CO 2 , sea surface temperature, and salinity to estimate the current seasonal and regional distributions of carbonate chemistry (pH and aragonite saturation state). The observed changes in atmospheric CO 2 and sea surface temperature (SST) and climatological salinity are then used to reconstruct pH and aragonite saturation state changes over the last 140 years (1870–2013). The comparison with data collected at Integrated Marine Observing System National Reference Station sites located on the shelf around Australia shows that both the mean state and seasonality in the present day are well represented, with the exception of sites such as the Great Barrier Reef. Our reconstruction predicts that since 1870 decrease in aragonite saturation state of 0.48 and of 0.09 in pH has occurred in response to increasing oceanic uptake of atmospheric CO 2 . Large seasonal variability in pH and aragonite saturation state occur in southwestern Australia driven by ocean dynamics (mixing) and in the Tasman Sea by seasonal warming (in the case of the aragonite saturation state). The seasonal and historical changes in aragonite saturation state and pH have different spatial patterns and suggest that the biological responses to ocean acidification are likely to be non-uniform depending on the relative sensitivity of organisms to shifts in pH and saturation state. This new historical reconstruction provides an important link to biological observations that will help to elucidate the consequences of ocean acidification. Text Ocean acidification Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Biogeosciences 13 6 1753 1765 |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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English |
description |
The ocean has become more acidic over the last 200 years in response increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels. Documenting how the ocean has changed is critical for assessing how these changes impact marine ecosystems and for the management of marine resources. Here we use present-day ocean carbon observations, from shelf and offshore waters around Australia, combined with neural network mapping of CO 2 , sea surface temperature, and salinity to estimate the current seasonal and regional distributions of carbonate chemistry (pH and aragonite saturation state). The observed changes in atmospheric CO 2 and sea surface temperature (SST) and climatological salinity are then used to reconstruct pH and aragonite saturation state changes over the last 140 years (1870–2013). The comparison with data collected at Integrated Marine Observing System National Reference Station sites located on the shelf around Australia shows that both the mean state and seasonality in the present day are well represented, with the exception of sites such as the Great Barrier Reef. Our reconstruction predicts that since 1870 decrease in aragonite saturation state of 0.48 and of 0.09 in pH has occurred in response to increasing oceanic uptake of atmospheric CO 2 . Large seasonal variability in pH and aragonite saturation state occur in southwestern Australia driven by ocean dynamics (mixing) and in the Tasman Sea by seasonal warming (in the case of the aragonite saturation state). The seasonal and historical changes in aragonite saturation state and pH have different spatial patterns and suggest that the biological responses to ocean acidification are likely to be non-uniform depending on the relative sensitivity of organisms to shifts in pH and saturation state. This new historical reconstruction provides an important link to biological observations that will help to elucidate the consequences of ocean acidification. |
format |
Text |
author |
Lenton, Andrew Tilbrook, Bronte Matear, Richard J. Sasse, Tristan P. Nojiri, Yukihiro |
spellingShingle |
Lenton, Andrew Tilbrook, Bronte Matear, Richard J. Sasse, Tristan P. Nojiri, Yukihiro Historical reconstruction of ocean acidification in the Australian region |
author_facet |
Lenton, Andrew Tilbrook, Bronte Matear, Richard J. Sasse, Tristan P. Nojiri, Yukihiro |
author_sort |
Lenton, Andrew |
title |
Historical reconstruction of ocean acidification in the Australian region |
title_short |
Historical reconstruction of ocean acidification in the Australian region |
title_full |
Historical reconstruction of ocean acidification in the Australian region |
title_fullStr |
Historical reconstruction of ocean acidification in the Australian region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Historical reconstruction of ocean acidification in the Australian region |
title_sort |
historical reconstruction of ocean acidification in the australian region |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1753-2016 https://www.biogeosciences.net/13/1753/2016/ |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
eISSN: 1726-4189 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/bg-13-1753-2016 https://www.biogeosciences.net/13/1753/2016/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1753-2016 |
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Biogeosciences |
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13 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1753 |
op_container_end_page |
1765 |
_version_ |
1766156868689854464 |