Climate change and ocean acidification impacts on lower trophic levels and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean
Most future projections forecast significant and ongoing climate change during the 21st century, but with the severity of impacts dependent on efforts to restrain or reorganise human activity to limit carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. A major sink for atmospheric CO 2 , and a key source of biologica...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8df36a4e255245d8b31dc0a9d632a217 2023-05-15T15:15:20+02:00 Climate change and ocean acidification impacts on lower trophic levels and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean A. Yool E. E. Popova A. C. Coward D. Bernie T. R. Anderson 2013-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-5831-2013 https://doaj.org/article/8df36a4e255245d8b31dc0a9d632a217 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.biogeosciences.net/10/5831/2013/bg-10-5831-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-10-5831-2013 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/8df36a4e255245d8b31dc0a9d632a217 Biogeosciences, Vol 10, Iss 9, Pp 5831-5854 (2013) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-5831-2013 2022-12-31T02:29:24Z Most future projections forecast significant and ongoing climate change during the 21st century, but with the severity of impacts dependent on efforts to restrain or reorganise human activity to limit carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. A major sink for atmospheric CO 2 , and a key source of biological resources, the World Ocean is widely anticipated to undergo profound physical and – via ocean acidification – chemical changes as direct and indirect results of these emissions. Given strong biophysical coupling, the marine biota is also expected to experience strong changes in response to this anthropogenic forcing. Here we examine the large-scale response of ocean biogeochemistry to climate and acidification impacts during the 21st century for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 8.5 using an intermediate complexity global ecosystem model, MEDUSA-2.0. The primary impact of future change lies in stratification-led declines in the availability of key nutrients in surface waters, which in turn leads to a global decrease (1990s vs. 2090s) in ocean productivity (−6.3%). This impact has knock-on consequences for the abundance of the low trophic level biogeochemical actors modelled by MEDUSA-2.0 (−5.8%), and these would be expected to similarly impact higher trophic level elements such as fisheries. Related impacts are found in the flux of organic material to seafloor communities (−40.7% at 1000 m), and in the volume of ocean suboxic zones (+12.5%). A sensitivity analysis removing an acidification feedback on calcification finds that change in this process significantly impacts benthic communities, suggesting that a~better understanding of the OA-sensitivity of calcifying organisms, and their role in ballasting sinking organic carbon, may significantly improve forecasting of these ecosystems. For all processes, there is geographical variability in change – for instance, productivity declines −21% in the Atlantic and increases +59% in the Arctic – and changes are much more pronounced under RCP 8.5 than the ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Medusa ENVELOPE(157.417,157.417,-79.633,-79.633) Biogeosciences 10 9 5831 5854 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 A. Yool E. E. Popova A. C. Coward D. Bernie T. R. Anderson Climate change and ocean acidification impacts on lower trophic levels and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Most future projections forecast significant and ongoing climate change during the 21st century, but with the severity of impacts dependent on efforts to restrain or reorganise human activity to limit carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. A major sink for atmospheric CO 2 , and a key source of biological resources, the World Ocean is widely anticipated to undergo profound physical and – via ocean acidification – chemical changes as direct and indirect results of these emissions. Given strong biophysical coupling, the marine biota is also expected to experience strong changes in response to this anthropogenic forcing. Here we examine the large-scale response of ocean biogeochemistry to climate and acidification impacts during the 21st century for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 8.5 using an intermediate complexity global ecosystem model, MEDUSA-2.0. The primary impact of future change lies in stratification-led declines in the availability of key nutrients in surface waters, which in turn leads to a global decrease (1990s vs. 2090s) in ocean productivity (−6.3%). This impact has knock-on consequences for the abundance of the low trophic level biogeochemical actors modelled by MEDUSA-2.0 (−5.8%), and these would be expected to similarly impact higher trophic level elements such as fisheries. Related impacts are found in the flux of organic material to seafloor communities (−40.7% at 1000 m), and in the volume of ocean suboxic zones (+12.5%). A sensitivity analysis removing an acidification feedback on calcification finds that change in this process significantly impacts benthic communities, suggesting that a~better understanding of the OA-sensitivity of calcifying organisms, and their role in ballasting sinking organic carbon, may significantly improve forecasting of these ecosystems. For all processes, there is geographical variability in change – for instance, productivity declines −21% in the Atlantic and increases +59% in the Arctic – and changes are much more pronounced under RCP 8.5 than the ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. Yool E. E. Popova A. C. Coward D. Bernie T. R. Anderson |
author_facet |
A. Yool E. E. Popova A. C. Coward D. Bernie T. R. Anderson |
author_sort |
A. Yool |
title |
Climate change and ocean acidification impacts on lower trophic levels and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean |
title_short |
Climate change and ocean acidification impacts on lower trophic levels and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean |
title_full |
Climate change and ocean acidification impacts on lower trophic levels and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean |
title_fullStr |
Climate change and ocean acidification impacts on lower trophic levels and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate change and ocean acidification impacts on lower trophic levels and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean |
title_sort |
climate change and ocean acidification impacts on lower trophic levels and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-5831-2013 https://doaj.org/article/8df36a4e255245d8b31dc0a9d632a217 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(157.417,157.417,-79.633,-79.633) |
geographic |
Arctic Medusa |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Medusa |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 10, Iss 9, Pp 5831-5854 (2013) |
op_relation |
http://www.biogeosciences.net/10/5831/2013/bg-10-5831-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-10-5831-2013 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/8df36a4e255245d8b31dc0a9d632a217 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-5831-2013 |
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Biogeosciences |
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10 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
5831 |
op_container_end_page |
5854 |
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1766345699584114688 |