Using present-day observations to detect when anthropogenic change forces
surface ocean carbonate chemistry outside preindustrial bounds

Sutton, Adrienne J.; Sabine, Christopher L.; Feely, Richard A.; Cai, Wei-Jun; Cronin, Meghan F.; McPhaden, Michael J.; Morell, Julio M.; Newton, Jan A.; Noh, Jae-Hoon; Ólafsdóttir, Sólveig R.; Salisbury, Joseph E.; Send, Uwe; Vandemark, Douglas C.; Weller, Robert A.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5065-2016

Articles | Volume 13, issue 17

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5065-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5065-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 13, issue 17

Research article

| Highlight paper

|

13 Sep 2016

Research article | Highlight paper |

| 13 Sep 2016

Using present-day observations to detect when anthropogenic change forces surface ocean carbonate chemistry outside preindustrial bounds

Adrienne J. Sutton, Christopher L. Sabine, Richard A. Feely, Wei-Jun Cai, Meghan F. Cronin, Michael J. McPhaden, Julio M. Morell, Jan A. Newton, Jae-Hoon Noh, Sólveig R. Ólafsdóttir, Joseph E. Salisbury, Uwe Send, Douglas C. Vandemark, and Robert A. Weller

Data sets

CO2 Time-series and Moorings Project CDIAC http://cdiac.ornl.gov/oceans/Moorings/

PMEL moorings NOAA http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/oceanacidification/stewardship/mooring_table.html

Short summary

Ocean carbonate observations from surface buoys reveal that marine life is currently exposed to conditions outside preindustrial bounds at 12 study locations around the world. Seasonal conditions in the California Current Ecosystem and Gulf of Maine also exceed thresholds that may impact shellfish larvae. High-resolution observations place long-term change in the context of large natural variability: a necessary step to understand ocean acidification impacts under real-world conditions.