Seasonal carbonate chemistry variability in marine surface waters of the US Pacific Northwest

• Published in: Earth System Science Data
• Main Authors: A. J. Fassbender, S. R. Alin, R. A. Feely, A. J. Sutton, J. A. Newton, C. Krembs, J. Bos, M. Keyzers, A. Devol, W. Ruef, G. Pelletier
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2018
• Subjects: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Geology; QE1-996.5; Pacific; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1367-2018; https://doaj.org/article/6c54cf9580a9410c935c8b0afce1fe3c

Fingerprinting ocean acidification (OA) in US West Coast waters is extremely challenging due to the large magnitude of natural carbonate chemistry variations common to these regions. Additionally, quantifying a change requires information about the initial conditions, which is not readily available in most coastal systems. In an effort to address this issue, we have collated high-quality publicly available data to characterize the modern seasonal carbonate chemistry variability in marine surface waters of the US Pacific Northwest. Underway ship data from version 4 of the Surface Ocean CO 2 Atlas, discrete observations from various sampling platforms, and sustained measurements from regional moorings were incorporated to provide ∼ 100 000 inorganic carbon observations from which modern seasonal cycles were estimated. Underway ship and discrete observations were merged and gridded to a 0.1° × 0.1° scale. Eight unique regions were identified and seasonal cycles from grid cells within each region were averaged. Data from nine surface moorings were also compiled and used to develop robust estimates of mean seasonal cycles for comparison with the eight regions. This manuscript describes our methodology and the resulting mean seasonal cycles for multiple OA metrics in an effort to provide a large-scale environmental context for ongoing research, adaptation, and management efforts throughout the US Pacific Northwest. Major findings include the identification of unique chemical characteristics across the study domain. There is a clear increase in the ratio of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) to total alkalinity (TA) and in the seasonal cycle amplitude of carbonate system parameters when moving from the open ocean North Pacific into the Salish Sea. Due to the logarithmic nature of the pH scale (pH = −log 10 [H + ], where [H + ] is the hydrogen ion concentration), lower annual mean pH values (associated with elevated DIC : TA ratios) coupled with larger magnitude seasonal pH cycles results in seasonal [H + ] ranges that ...