Coral reefs will transition to net dissolving before end of century
Ocean acidification refers to the lowering of the ocean’s pH due to the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere. Coral reef calcification is expected to decrease as the oceans become more acidic. Dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) sands could greatly exacerbate reef loss associated with re...
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Online Access: | https://epubs.scu.edu.au/esm_pubs/3430 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1118 |
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ftsoutherncu:oai:epubs.scu.edu.au:esm_pubs-4460 2023-05-15T17:49:56+02:00 Coral reefs will transition to net dissolving before end of century Eyre, Bradley D Cyronak, Tyler Drupp, Patrick De Carlo, Eric H Sachs, Julian Andersson, Andreas J 2018-01-01T08:00:00Z https://epubs.scu.edu.au/esm_pubs/3430 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1118 unknown ePublications@SCU School of Environment, Science and Engineering Papers Environmental Sciences article 2018 ftsoutherncu https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1118 2019-08-06T13:18:04Z Ocean acidification refers to the lowering of the ocean’s pH due to the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere. Coral reef calcification is expected to decrease as the oceans become more acidic. Dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) sands could greatly exacerbate reef loss associated with reduced calcification but is presently poorly constrained. Here we show that CaCO3 dissolution in reef sediments across five globally distributed sites is negatively correlated with the aragonite saturation state (War) of overlying seawater and that CaCO3 sediment dissolution is 10-fold more sensitive to ocean acidification than coral calcification. Consequently, reef sediments globally will transition from net precipitation to net dissolution when seawater War reaches 2.92 ± 0.16 (expected circa 2050 CE). Notably, some reefs are already experiencing net sediment dissolution. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Southern Cross University: epublications@SCU Science 359 6378 908 911 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Southern Cross University: epublications@SCU |
op_collection_id |
ftsoutherncu |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Environmental Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Environmental Sciences Eyre, Bradley D Cyronak, Tyler Drupp, Patrick De Carlo, Eric H Sachs, Julian Andersson, Andreas J Coral reefs will transition to net dissolving before end of century |
topic_facet |
Environmental Sciences |
description |
Ocean acidification refers to the lowering of the ocean’s pH due to the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere. Coral reef calcification is expected to decrease as the oceans become more acidic. Dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) sands could greatly exacerbate reef loss associated with reduced calcification but is presently poorly constrained. Here we show that CaCO3 dissolution in reef sediments across five globally distributed sites is negatively correlated with the aragonite saturation state (War) of overlying seawater and that CaCO3 sediment dissolution is 10-fold more sensitive to ocean acidification than coral calcification. Consequently, reef sediments globally will transition from net precipitation to net dissolution when seawater War reaches 2.92 ± 0.16 (expected circa 2050 CE). Notably, some reefs are already experiencing net sediment dissolution. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Eyre, Bradley D Cyronak, Tyler Drupp, Patrick De Carlo, Eric H Sachs, Julian Andersson, Andreas J |
author_facet |
Eyre, Bradley D Cyronak, Tyler Drupp, Patrick De Carlo, Eric H Sachs, Julian Andersson, Andreas J |
author_sort |
Eyre, Bradley D |
title |
Coral reefs will transition to net dissolving before end of century |
title_short |
Coral reefs will transition to net dissolving before end of century |
title_full |
Coral reefs will transition to net dissolving before end of century |
title_fullStr |
Coral reefs will transition to net dissolving before end of century |
title_full_unstemmed |
Coral reefs will transition to net dissolving before end of century |
title_sort |
coral reefs will transition to net dissolving before end of century |
publisher |
ePublications@SCU |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://epubs.scu.edu.au/esm_pubs/3430 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1118 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
School of Environment, Science and Engineering Papers |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1118 |
container_title |
Science |
container_volume |
359 |
container_issue |
6378 |
container_start_page |
908 |
op_container_end_page |
911 |
_version_ |
1766156459272306688 |