Articles | Volume 15, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3743-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3743-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
20 Jun 2018
Research article |
| 20 Jun 2018
| 20 Jun 2018
The sensitivity of estuarine aragonite saturation state and pH to the carbonate chemistry of a freshet-dominated river
Benjamin L. Moore-Maley
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Debby Ianson
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada
Susan E. Allen
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Short summary
Estuaries are vulnerable to ocean acidification, but present-day estuarine pH and aragonite saturation state variability are larger than in the open ocean. Using a numerical model of a large estuary and data from its primary river, we find that changes in river alkalinity relative to river carbon may determine a small but significant portion of this variability, while the majority is controlled by photosynthesis/respiration. Future watershed changes may shift the river alkalinity–carbon balance.
Estuaries are vulnerable to ocean acidification, but present-day estuarine pH and aragonite...
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