Oceanography The Official Magazine of
The Oceanography Society
Volume 22 Issue 04

View Issue TOC
Volume 22, No. 4
Pages 16 - 25

OpenAccess

Ocean Acidification: A Critical Emerging Problem for the Ocean Sciences

By Scott C. Doney , William M. Balch, Victoria J. Fabry , and Richard A. Feely 
Jump to
Article Abstract Citation References Copyright & Usage
Article Abstract

Over a period of less than a decade, ocean acidification—the change in seawater chemistry due to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and subsequent impacts on marine life—has become one of the most critical and pressing issues facing the ocean research community and marine resource managers alike. The objective of this special issue of Oceanography is to provide an overview of the current scientific understanding of ocean acidification as well as to indicate the substantial gaps in our present knowledge. Papers in the special issue discuss the past, current, and future trends in seawater chemistry; highlight potential vulnerabilities to marine species, ecosystems, and marine resources to elevated CO2; and outline a roadmap toward future research directions. In this introductory article, we present a brief introduction on ocean acidification and some historical context for how it emerged so quickly and recently as a key research topic.

Citation

Doney, S.C., W.M. Balch, V.J. Fabry, and R.A. Feely. 2009. Ocean acidification: A critical emerging problem for the ocean sciences. Oceanography 22(4):16–25, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2009.93.

References
    Balch, W.M., and P.E. Utgoff. 2009. Potential interactions among ocean acidification, coccolithophores, and the optical properties of seawater. Oceanography 22(4):146–159.
  1. Bishop, J.K.B. 2009. Autonomous observations of the ocean biological carbon pump. Oceanography 22(1):182–193. Available online at: http://tos.org/oceanography/issues/issue_archive/22_2.html (accessed November 16, 2009).
  2. Bolin, B., and E. Eriksson. 1959. Changes in the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere and the sea due to fossil fuel combustion. Pp. 130–142 in The Atmosphere and the Sea in Motion. Rockefeller Institute Press, New York, NY. 
  3. Boyd, P.W., and S.C. Doney. 2002. Modeling regional responses by marine pelagic ecosystems to global climate change. Geophysical Research Letters 29(16), 1806, doi:10.1029/2001GL014130.
  4. Brewer, P.G., and K. Hester. 2009. Ocean acidification and the increasing transparency of the ocean to low-frequency sound. Oceanography 22(4):86–93.
  5. Broecker, W.S., and T. Takahashi. 1977. Neutralization of fossil fuel CO2 by marine calcium carbonate. Pp. 213–241 in The Fate of Fossil Fuel CO2. N. Anderson and A. Malahoff, eds, Plenum Press, New York, NY. 
  6. Broecker, W.S., Y.H. Li, and T.-H. Peng. 1971. Carbon dioxide: Man’s unseen artifact. Pp. 287–324 in Impingement of Man on the Oceans. D.W. Hood, ed., Wiley-Interscience, Malden, MA.
  7. Broecker, W.S., T. Takahashi, H.J. Simpson, and T.-H. Peng. 1979. Fate of fossil fuel carbon dioxide and the global carbon budget. Science 206:409–418.
  8. Byrne, R.H., J.G. Acker, P.R. Betzer, R.A. Feely, and M.H. Cates. 1984. Water column dissolution of aragonite in the Pacific Ocean. Nature 312:321–326.
  9. Cohen, A.L., and M. Holcomb. 2009. Why corals care about ocean acidification: Uncovering the mechanism. Oceanography 22(4):118–127.
  10. Cooley, S.R., H.L. Kite-Powell, and S.C. Doney. 2009. Ocean acidification’s potential to alter global marine ecosystem services. Oceanography 22(4):172–181.
  11. Dickson, A.G., C.L. Sabine, and J.R. Christian, eds. 2007. Guide to Best Practices for Ocean CO2 Measurements. PICES Special Publication 3, 191 pp.
  12. Doney, S.C., V.J. Fabry, R.A. Feely, and J.A. Kleypas. 2009. Ocean acidification: The other CO2 problem. Annual Review of Marine Science 1:169–192.
  13. Dore, J.E., R. Lukas, D.W. Sadler, M.J. Church, and D.M. Karl. 2009. Physical and biogeochemical modulation of ocean acidification in the central North Pacific. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 106:12,235–12,240.
  14. Fabry, V.J., J.B. McClintock, J.T. Mathis, and J.M. Grebmeier. 2009a. Ocean acidification at high latitudes: The bellwether. Oceanography 22(4):160–171.
  15. Fabry, V.J., C. Langdon, W.M. Balch, A.G. Dickson, R.A. Feely, B. Hales, D.A. Hutchins, J.A. Kleypas, and C.L. Sabine. 2009b. Present and Future Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Ecosystems and Biogeochemical Cycles. Report of the Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Program Scoping Workshop on Ocean Acidification Research held October 9–11, 2007, La Jolla, CA, 51 pp. Available online from http://www.us-ocb.org/publications/OCB_OA_rept.pdf (accessed November 16, 2009).
  16. Fabry, V.J., B.A. Seibel, R.A. Feely, and J.C. Orr. 2008. Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes. ICES Journal of Marine Science 65:414–432.
  17. Fairhall, A.W. 1973. Accumulation of fossil CO2 in atmosphere and sea. Nature 245:20–23.
  18. Feely, R.A., and C.-T.A. Chen. 1982. The effect of excess CO2 on the calculated calcite and aragonite saturation horizons in the northeast Pacific. Geophysical Research Letters 9:1,294–1,297.
  19. Feely, R.A., R.H. Byrne, J.G. Acker, P.R. Betzer, C.-T.A. Chen, J.F. Gendron, and M.F. Lamb. 1988. Winter-summer variations of calcite and aragonite saturation in the northeast Pacific. Marine Chemistry 25:227–241.
  20. Feely, R.A., R.H. Byrne, P.R. Betzer, J.F. Gendron, and J.G. Acker. 1984. Factors influencing the degree of saturation of the surface and intermediate waters of the North Pacific Ocean with respect to aragonite. Journal of Geophysical Research 89(C6):10,631–10,640.
  21. Feeley, R.A., S.C. Doney, and S.R. Cooley. 2009. Ocean acidification: Present conditions and future changes in a high-CO2 world. Oceanography 22(4):36–47.
  22. Feely, R.A., V.J. Fabry, A. Dickson, J.-P. Gattuso, J. Bijma, U. Riebesell, S. Doney, C. Turley, T. Saino, K. Lee, and others. In open review. An International Observational Network for Ocean Acidification. Ocean Observations Conference 2009 Report. Available online at: http://www.oceanobs09.net/blog/?p=78 (accessed November 18, 2009).
  23. Gattuso, J.-P., M. Frankignoulle, I. Bourge, S. Romaine, and R.W. Buddemeier. 1998. Effect of calcium carbonate saturation of seawater on coral calcification. Global and Planetary Change 18:37–46.
  24. Gattuso, J.-P., L. Hansson, and the EPOCA Consortium. 2009. European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA): Objectives, products, and scientific highlights. Oceanography 22(4):190–201.
  25. Gledhill, D.K., R. Wanninkhof, and C.M. Eakin. 2009. Observing ocean acidification from space. Oceanography 22(4):48–59.
  26. Guinotte, J.M., and V.J. Fabry. 2008. Ocean acidification and its potential effects on marine ecosystems. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1134:320–342.
  27. Hauri, C., N. Gruber, G.-K. Plattner, S. Alin, R.A. Feely, B. Hales, and P.A. Wheeler. 2009. Ocean acidification in the California Current System. Oceanography 22(4):60–71.
  28. Hutchins, D.A., M.R. Mulholland, and F. Fu. 2009. Nutrient cycles and marine microbes in a CO2-enriched ocean. Oceanography 22(4):128–145.
  29. Johnson, K.S., W.M. Berelson, E.S. Boss, Z. Chase, H. Claustre, S.R. Emerson, N. Gruber, A. Körtzinger, M.J. Perry, and S.C. Riser. 2009. Observing biogeochemical cycles at global scales with profiling floats and gliders: Prospects for a global array. Oceanography 22(3):216–225. Available online at: http://tos.org/oceanography/issues/issue_archive/issue_pdfs/22_3/22-3_johnson.pdf (accessed November 16, 2009).
  30. Keeling, C.D. 1960. The concentration and isotopic abundances of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Tellus XII:200–203.
  31. Kleypas, J.A., and K.K. Yates. 2009. Coral reefs and ocean acidification. Oceanography 22(4):108–117.
  32. Kleypas, J.A., R.W. Buddemeier, D. Archer, J.P. Gattuso, C. Langdon, and B.N. Opdyke. 1999. Geochemical consequences of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on coral reefs. Science 284:118–120.
  33. Kleypas, J.A., R.A. Feely, V.J. Fabry, C. Langdon, C.L. Sabine, and L.L. Robbins. 2006. Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs and Other Marine Calcifiers: A Guide to Future Research. Report of a Workshop Held April 18–20, 2005, St. Petersburg, FL, Sponsored by NSF, NOAA, and the US Geological Survey, 88 pp. Available online at: http://www.isse.ucar.edu/florida/ (accessed November 16, 2009).
  34. Kump, L.R., T.J. Bralower, and A. Ridgwell. 2009. Ocean acidification in deep time. Oceanography 22(4):94–107.
  35. Langdon, C., T. Takahashi, C. Sweeney, D. Chipman, J. Goddard, F. Marubini, H. Aceves, H. Barnett, and M. Atkinson. 2000. Effect of calcium carbonate saturation state on the calcification rate of an experimental coral reef. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 14:639–654. 
  36. Le Quéré, C., M.R. Raupach, J.G. Canadell, G. Marland, L. Bopp, P. Ciais, T.J. Conway, S.C. Doney, R.A. Feely, P. Foster, and others. 2009. Trends in the sources and sinks carbon dioxide. Nature Geoscience 2:831–836, doi:10.1038/ngeo689.
  37. Marubini, F., and M.J. Atkinson. 1999. Effects of lowered pH and elevated nitrate on coral calcification. Marine Ecology Progress Series 188:117–21.
  38. Millero, F.J., R. Woosley, B. DiTrolio, and J. Waters. 2009. Effect of ocean acidification on the speciation of metals in seawater. Oceanography 22(4):72–85.
  39. Mucci, A. 1983. The solubility of calcite and aragonite in seawater at various salinities, temperatures and 1 atmosphere total pressure. American Journal of Science 238:780–799.
  40. National Research Council. In press. Development of an Integrated Science Strategy for Ocean Acidification Monitoring, Research, and Impacts Assessment. National Academies Press, Washington, DC.
  41. Orr, J.C., K. Caldeira, V. Fabry, J.-P. Gattuso, P. Haugan, P. Lehodey, S. Pantoja, H.-O. Pörtner, U. Riebesell, T. Trull, and others. 2009. Research priorities for understanding ocean acidification: Summary from the Second Symposium on the Ocean in a High-CO2 World. Oceanography 22(4):182–189.
  42. Pytkowicz, R.M., and L.M. Small. 1977. Fossil fuel problem and carbon dioxide: An overview. Pp. 7–31 in The Fate of Fossil Fuel CO2. N. Anderson and A. Malahoff, eds, Plenum Press, New York. 
  43. Revelle, R., and H.E. Suess. 1957. Carbon dioxide exchange between atmosphere and ocean and the question of an increase of atmospheric CO2 during the past decades. Tellus 9:18–27.
  44. Riebesell, U., V.J. Fabry, and J.-P. Gattuso, eds. In press. Guide for Best Practices in Ocean Acidification Research and Data Reporting. Available online at: http://www.epoca-project.eu/index.php/Home/Guide-to-OA-Research/ (accessed November 16, 2009).
  45. Riebesell, U., I. Zondervan, B. Rost, P.D. Tortell, R.E. Zeebe, and F.M.M. Morel. 2000. Reduced calcification of marine plankton in response to increased atmospheric CO2. Nature 407:364–367.
  46. Ries, J.B., A.L. Cohen, and D.C. McCorkle. 2009. Marine calcifiers exhibit mixed responses to CO2-induced ocean acidification. Geology 37(12):1,057–1,152. 
  47. Royal Society. 2005. Ocean Acidification Due to Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. The Royal Society, London UK, 57 pp.
  48. Sabine, C.L., R.A. Feely, N. Gruber, R.M. Key, K. Lee, J.L. Bullister, R. Wanninkhof, C.S. Wong, D.W.R. Wallace, B. Tilbrook, and others. 2004. The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2. Science 305:367–371.
  49. Skirrow, G., and M. Whitfield. 1975. Effect of increases in the atmospheric carbon-dioxide content on the carbonate ion concentration of surface ocean water at 25°C. Limnology and Oceanography 20:103–108.
  50. Tans, P. 2009. An accounting of the observed increase in oceanic and atmospheric CO2 and an outlook for the future. Oceanography 22(4):26–35.
  51. Tortell, P.D., J.R. Reinfelder, and F.M.M. Morel. 1997. Active uptake of bicarbonate by diatoms. Nature 390:243–244.
  52. Whitfield, M. 1974. Accumulation of fossil CO2 in the atmosphere and in the sea. Nature 247:523–525.
  53. Zimen, K.E., and F.K. Altenhein. 1973. The future burden of industrial CO2 on the atmosphere and the oceans. Naturwissenschaften 60:198–199.
Copyright & Usage

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.