Observed acidification trends in North Atlantic water masses
The lack of observational pH data has made it difficult to assess recent rates of ocean acidification, particularly in the high latitudes. Here we present a time series that spans over 27 yr (1981–2008) of high-quality carbon system measurements in the North Atlantic, which comprises fourteen cruise...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ec43d929926e47a19d1735d9e3298f25 2023-05-15T16:47:03+02:00 Observed acidification trends in North Atlantic water masses M. Vázquez-Rodríguez F. F. Pérez A. Velo A. F. Ríos H. Mercier 2012-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-5217-2012 https://doaj.org/article/ec43d929926e47a19d1735d9e3298f25 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.biogeosciences.net/9/5217/2012/bg-9-5217-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-9-5217-2012 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/ec43d929926e47a19d1735d9e3298f25 Biogeosciences, Vol 9, Iss 12, Pp 5217-5230 (2012) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-5217-2012 2022-12-30T22:00:37Z The lack of observational pH data has made it difficult to assess recent rates of ocean acidification, particularly in the high latitudes. Here we present a time series that spans over 27 yr (1981–2008) of high-quality carbon system measurements in the North Atlantic, which comprises fourteen cruises and covers the important water mass formation areas of the Irminger and Iceland Basins. We provide direct quantification of acidification rates in upper and intermediate North Atlantic waters. The highest rates were associated with surface waters and with Labrador Sea Water (LSW). The Subarctic Intermediate and Subpolar Mode Waters (SAIW and SPMW) showed acidification rates of −0.0019 ± 0.0001 and −0.0012 ± 0.0002 yr −1 , respectively. The deep convection activity in the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre injects surface waters loaded with anthropogenic CO 2 into lower layers, provoking the remarkable acidification rate observed for LSW in the Iceland Basin (−0.0016 ± 0.0002 yr −1 ). An extrapolation of the observed linear acidification trends suggests that the pH of LSW could drop 0.45 units with respect to pre-industrial levels by the time atmospheric CO 2 concentrations reach ~775 ppm. Under circulation conditions and evolution of CO 2 emission rates similar to those of the last three decades, by the time atmospheric CO 2 reaches 550 ppm, an aragonite undersaturation state could be reached in the cLSW of the Iceland Basin, earlier than surface SPMW. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Labrador Sea North Atlantic Ocean acidification Subarctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Biogeosciences 9 12 5217 5230 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
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Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 M. Vázquez-Rodríguez F. F. Pérez A. Velo A. F. Ríos H. Mercier Observed acidification trends in North Atlantic water masses |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The lack of observational pH data has made it difficult to assess recent rates of ocean acidification, particularly in the high latitudes. Here we present a time series that spans over 27 yr (1981–2008) of high-quality carbon system measurements in the North Atlantic, which comprises fourteen cruises and covers the important water mass formation areas of the Irminger and Iceland Basins. We provide direct quantification of acidification rates in upper and intermediate North Atlantic waters. The highest rates were associated with surface waters and with Labrador Sea Water (LSW). The Subarctic Intermediate and Subpolar Mode Waters (SAIW and SPMW) showed acidification rates of −0.0019 ± 0.0001 and −0.0012 ± 0.0002 yr −1 , respectively. The deep convection activity in the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre injects surface waters loaded with anthropogenic CO 2 into lower layers, provoking the remarkable acidification rate observed for LSW in the Iceland Basin (−0.0016 ± 0.0002 yr −1 ). An extrapolation of the observed linear acidification trends suggests that the pH of LSW could drop 0.45 units with respect to pre-industrial levels by the time atmospheric CO 2 concentrations reach ~775 ppm. Under circulation conditions and evolution of CO 2 emission rates similar to those of the last three decades, by the time atmospheric CO 2 reaches 550 ppm, an aragonite undersaturation state could be reached in the cLSW of the Iceland Basin, earlier than surface SPMW. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Vázquez-Rodríguez F. F. Pérez A. Velo A. F. Ríos H. Mercier |
author_facet |
M. Vázquez-Rodríguez F. F. Pérez A. Velo A. F. Ríos H. Mercier |
author_sort |
M. Vázquez-Rodríguez |
title |
Observed acidification trends in North Atlantic water masses |
title_short |
Observed acidification trends in North Atlantic water masses |
title_full |
Observed acidification trends in North Atlantic water masses |
title_fullStr |
Observed acidification trends in North Atlantic water masses |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observed acidification trends in North Atlantic water masses |
title_sort |
observed acidification trends in north atlantic water masses |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-5217-2012 https://doaj.org/article/ec43d929926e47a19d1735d9e3298f25 |
genre |
Iceland Labrador Sea North Atlantic Ocean acidification Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Iceland Labrador Sea North Atlantic Ocean acidification Subarctic |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 9, Iss 12, Pp 5217-5230 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://www.biogeosciences.net/9/5217/2012/bg-9-5217-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-9-5217-2012 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/ec43d929926e47a19d1735d9e3298f25 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-5217-2012 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
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9 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
5217 |
op_container_end_page |
5230 |
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1766037148690022400 |