Tracking ocean acidification from in situ measurements in the North Atlantic over the last three decades (1981-2008)

• Main Authors: Pérez, Fiz F., Vázquez Rodríguez, Marcos, Ríos, Aida F., Velo, A.
• Format: Still Image
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Irminger Basin; Iceland; NADW; North Atlantic Deep Water; North Atlantic; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/332983

Poster.-- SOLAS Open Science Conference, Barcelona, 16-19 November 2009 A dataset of direct pH measurements comprising twelve cruises and spanning three decades has revealed a progressive acidification in the Iberian, Iceland and Irminger basins. Generally, the maximum pH drop occurs in the upper layers, although acidification is clearly detectable in lower layers too. The surface waters of the Iceland basin register the highest acidification rates (-19±4·10-3 pH units per decade) while the lowest one (-0.4±3·10-3) corresponds to the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in the Iberian basin. The Irminger basin shows rather homogeneous acidifications rates, between -9·10-3 and -10·10-3 pH units per decade. The acidification of Labrador Seawater, which is located at mid depths and spreads eastwards, decreases from the Irminger (-10±2·10-3 pH units per decade) towards the Iberian basin (-5±1·10-3 pH units per decade). The measured acidification patterns match closely with the general water mass circulation schemes described in this region (Yashayaev et al., 2008) No