Seawater carbonate chemistry, calcification and dissolution of a coral reef in the northern Red Sea, 2007

• Main Authors: Silverman, Jacob, Lazar, Boaz, Erez, Jonathan
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2007
• Subjects: Alkalinity; total; Alkalinity anomaly technique (Smith and Key; 1975); Aragonite saturation state; Benthos; Bicarbonate ion; Calcification/Dissolution; Calcification rate of calcium carbonate; Calcite saturation state; Calculated; see reference(s); Calculated using CO2SYS; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbon; inorganic; dissolved; Carbonate ion; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Coast and continental shelf; Date; DEPTH; water; Dissolution rate; standard deviation; Entire community; EPOCA; EUR-OCEANS; European network of excellence for Ocean Ecosystems Analysis; European Project on Ocean Acidification; Evaporation; daily total; Field observation; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); LATITUDE; LONGITUDE; Macro-nutrients; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); pH; pH meter (Radiometer PHM 93); Red Sea; Residence time; Rocky-shore community; Salinity; Temperate; Temperature; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.767586; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.767586

In this study we investigated the relations between community calcification of an entire coral reef in the northern Red Sea and annual changes in temperature, aragonite saturation and nutrient loading over a two year period. Summer (April-October) and winter (November-March) average calcification rates varied between 60 ± 20 and 30 ± 20 mmol·m-2·d-1, respectively. In general, calcification increased with temperature and aragonite saturation state of reef water with an apparent effect of nutrients, which is in agreement with most laboratory studies and in situ measurements of single coral growth rates. The calcification rates we measured in the reef correlated remarkably well with precipitation rates of inorganic aragonite calculated for the same temperature and degree of saturation ranges using empirical equations from the literature. This is a very significant finding considering that only a minute portion of reef calcification is inorganic. Hence, these relations could be used to predict the response of coral reefs to ocean acidification and warming.