Rapid Progression of Ocean Acidification in the California Current System

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1216773
• Publication Date: 2012-06-15T04:03:39Z
• Authors: Nicolas Gruber; Claudine Hauri; Zouhair Lachkar; Damian Loher; Thomas L. Frölicher; Gian-Kasper Plattner
• Keywords: Aquatic Organisms; Geologic Sediments; Pacific Ocean; Atmosphere; Carbon Dioxide; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; 01 natural sciences; California; Calcium Carbonate; 13. Climate action; Water Movements; Computer Simulation; Seawater; 14. Life underwater; Ecosystem; Forecasting; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Acidification Blues

The increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide threatens the health of the ocean's ecosystems because of the resulting acidification of the ocean and the decrease in its carbonate saturation state.

Gruber et al.

(p. 220 , published online 14 June) used a regional ocean model to project how the saturation state of aragonite, a form of calcium carbonate that is produced by many marine organisms, will change in the California Current System through the year 2050. The sea floor along many parts of the California coast is likely to become exposed to year-round aragonite undersaturation within the next 20 to 30 years, a situation that could severely reduce the range of habitats for marine shellfish.