Measuring Ocean Acidification: New Technology for a New Era of Ocean Chemistry
Human additions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere are creating a cascade of chemical consequences that will eventually extend to the bottom of all the world’s oceans. Among the best-documented seawater effects are a worldwide increase in open-ocean acidity and large-scale declines in calcium carbo...
| Published in: | Environmental Science & Technology |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | unknown |
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Digital Commons @ University of South Florida
2014
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| Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/1650 https://doi.org/10.1021/es405819p |
| Summary: | Human additions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere are creating a cascade of chemical consequences that will eventually extend to the bottom of all the world’s oceans. Among the best-documented seawater effects are a worldwide increase in open-ocean acidity and large-scale declines in calcium carbonate saturation states. The susceptibility of some young, fast-growing calcareous organisms to adverse impacts highlights the potential for biological and economic consequences. Many important aspects of seawater CO2 chemistry can be only indirectly observed at present, and important but difficult-to-observe changes can include shifts in the speciation and possibly bioavailability of some life-essential elements. Innovation and invention are urgently needed to develop the in situ instrumentation required to document this era of rapid ocean evolution. |
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