Nature's way of slowing down ocean acidification
durch
5-1.213 - PAZIFIK / PACIFIC- Rechte Seite - Großer, unterteilbarer Konferenzraum
GEOMAR - Standort Ostufer / GEOMAR - East Shore
Abstract:
Ocean acidification threatens marine ecosystems and is driven by multiple factors, including rising anthropogenic carbon (Cant), changes in natural carbon, shifts in total alkalinity, and variations in temperature and salinity that arise under anthropogenic forcing. However, past estimates of ocean acidification typically account only for increasing Cant, implicitly assuming that changes in other drivers are negligible. Using a suite of Earth System Model experiments, we show that these other drivers have slowed global ocean acidification by about 20% since pre-industrial times, equivalent to roughly a decade of acidification at current rates. This slowdown is primarily driven by acidification-driven alkalinity increases and climate-driven losses of natural carbon, two anthropogenic-forcing-induced negative feedbacks on ocean acidification. These feedbacks exhibit strong regional variability: ocean acidification is slowed across many tropical and temperate regions but accelerated at high latitudes. This latitudinal pattern reflects alkalinity changes linked to salinity shifts, with additional modulation from climate-driven losses of natural carbon. Our projections indicate that these negative feedbacks will persist under continued anthropogenic forcing and partially offset future ocean acidification.
Meeting link:
https://geomar.webex.com/geomar/j.php?MTID=mf6b13ee3c306aa2453134001ba12a3d8
FB2 Office