The growing human footprint on coastal and open-ocean biogeochemistry

  • Posted on: Mon, 06/13/2016 - 05:56
  • By: Anonymous

Climate change, rising atmospheric carbon dioxide, excess nutrient inputs, and pollution in its many forms are fundamentally altering the chemistry of the ocean, often on a global scale and, in some cases, at rates greatly exceeding those in the historical and recent geological record. Major observed trends include a shift ...

History of Seawater Carbonate Chemistry, Atmospheric CO2, and Ocean Acidification

  • Posted on: Wed, 03/30/2016 - 16:00
  • By: petert

Humans are continuing to add vast amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere through fossil fuel burning and other activities. A large fraction of the CO2 is taken up by the oceans in a process that lowers ocean pH and carbonate mineral saturation state. This effect has potentially serious consequences ...

Ocean Acidification in the Coastal Zone from and Organism's Perspective: Multipe System Parameters, Frequency Domains, and Habitats

  • Posted on: Wed, 03/30/2016 - 15:53
  • By: petert

Multiple natural and anthropogenic processes alter the carbonate chemistry of the coastal zone in ways that either exacerbate or mitigate ocean acidification effects. Freshwater inputs and multiple acid-base reactions change carbonate chemistry conditions, sometimes synergistically. The shallow nature of these systems results in strong benthic-pelagic coupling, and marine invertebrates at ...

Saturation-state sensitivity of marine bivalve larvae to ocean acidification

  • Posted on: Wed, 03/30/2016 - 15:50
  • By: petert

Ocean acidification results in co-varying inorganic carbon system variables. Of these, an explicit focus on pH and organismal acid–base regulation has failed to distinguish the mechanism of failure in highly sensitive bivalve larvae. With unique chemical manipulations of seawater we show definitively that larval shell development and growth are dependent ...

Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms

  • Posted on: Wed, 03/30/2016 - 15:33
  • By: petert

Today's surface ocean is saturated with respect to calcium carbonate, but increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are reducing ocean pH and carbonate ion concentrations, and thus the level of calcium carbonate saturation. Experimental evidence suggests that if these trends continue, key marine organisms—such as corals and some plankton—will have difficulty ...

The marine inorganic carbon system along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the United States: Insights from a transregional coastal carbon study

  • Posted on: Wed, 03/30/2016 - 13:57
  • By: petert

Distributions of total alkalinity (TA), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and other parameters relevant to the marine inorganic carbon system were investigated in shelf and adjacent ocean waters during a U.S. Gulf of Mexico and East Coast Carbon cruise in July–August 2007. TA exhibited near-conservative behavior with respect to salinity. Shelf ...

Ocean Acidification 2.0: Managing our Changing Coastal Ocean Chemistry

  • Posted on: Wed, 03/30/2016 - 13:47
  • By: petert

Ocean acidification (OA) is rapidly emerging as a significant problem for organisms, ecosystems, and human societies. Globally, addressing OA and its impacts requires international agreements to reduce rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. However, the complex suite of drivers of changing carbonate chemistry in coastal environments also requires regional policy analysis, ...

Meta-analysis reveals negative yet variable effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms

  • Posted on: Wed, 03/30/2016 - 12:01
  • By: petert

Ocean acidification is a pervasive stressor that could affect many marine organisms and cause profound ecological shifts. A variety of biological responses to ocean acidification have been measured across a range of taxa, but this information exists as case studies and has not been synthesized into meaningful comparisons amongst response ...

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