[OANNES Foro] Rapid Progression of Ocean Acidification in the California Current System

[Mario Cabrejos]

Science 13 July 2012: 
Vol. 337 no. 6091 pp. 146-148 
DOI: 10.1126/science.337.6091.146 

Rising Acidity Brings an Ocean of Trouble
Robert F. Service

Summary

The burning of fossil fuels emits some 35 billion metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. That has already begun to change the fundamental chemistry of the world's oceans, steadily increasing their level of acidity. On page 220 of this week's issue of Science, scientists report projections from a new high-resolution computer model showing that over the next 4 decades, the combination of deep-water upwelling and rising atmospheric CO2 is likely to have profound impacts on waters off the West Coast of the United States, home to one of the world's most diverse marine ecosystems and most important commercial fisheries. The new computer model is only one of several recent warning signs. Numerous laboratory and field studies over the past few years underscore rising concerns that ocean acidification could devastate marine ecosystems on which millions of people depend for food and jobs. 


Science 13 July 2012: 
Vol. 337 no. 6091 pp. 220-223 
DOI: 10.1126/science.1216773 
Published Online June 14 2012

Rapid Progression of Ocean Acidification in the California Current System
Nicolas Gruber1,*, Claudine Hauri1, Zouhair Lachkar1, Damian Loher1, Thomas L. Frölicher2, Gian-Kasper Plattner3
1Environmental Physics, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. 2Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA. 3Climate and Environmental Physics, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. E-mail: nicolas.gruber en env.ethz.ch

Abstract
Nearshore waters of the California Current System (California CS) already have a low carbonate saturation state, making them particularly susceptible to ocean acidification. We used eddy-resolving model simulations to study the potential development of ocean acidification in this system up to the year 2050 under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios A2 and B1 scenarios. In both scenarios, the saturation state of aragonite ?arag is projected to drop rapidly, with much of the nearshore region developing summer-long undersaturation in the top 60 meters within the next 30 years. By 2050, waters with ?arag above 1.5 will have largely disappeared, and more than half of the waters will be undersaturated year-round. Habitats along the sea floor will become exposed to year-round undersaturation within the next 20 to 30 years. These projected events have potentially major implications for the rich and diverse ecosystem that characterizes the California CS. 

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