Articles | Volume 18, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1407-2021
© Author(s) 2021. 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-18-1407-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Technical note
| 
24 Feb 2021
Technical note |
| 24 Feb 2021
| 24 Feb 2021
Technical note: Interpreting pH changes
Andrea J. Fassbender
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss
Landing, CA 95039, USA
James C. Orr
LSCE/IPSL, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement,
CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Andrew G. Dickson
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San
Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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- Ion Trios: Cause of Ion Specific Interactions in Aqueous Solutions and Path to a Better pH Definition P. May & E. May 10.1021/acsomega.4c07525
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- S.P.L. Sørensen, the pH concept and its early history H. Kragh 10.1007/s10698-025-09532-6
- Progression of ocean interior acidification over the industrial era J. Müller & N. Gruber 10.1126/sciadv.ado3103
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- Marine CO2 system variability along the northeast Pacific Inside Passage determined from an Alaskan ferry W. Evans et al. 10.5194/bg-19-1277-2022
- Contrasting Controls of Acidification Metrics Across Environmental Gradients in the North Pacific and the Adjunct Arctic Ocean: Insight From a Transregional Study Y. Wu et al. 10.1029/2021GL094473
- Dynamically downscaled projections of ocean acidification for the Bering Sea D. Pilcher et al. 10.1016/j.dsr2.2022.105055
- Advancing best practices for assessing trends of ocean acidification time series A. Sutton et al. 10.3389/fmars.2022.1045667
30 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Assessing the influence of ocean alkalinity enhancement on a coastal phytoplankton community A. Ferderer et al. 10.5194/bg-19-5375-2022
- Emergent interactive effects of climate change and contaminants in coastal and ocean ecosystems V. Hatje et al. 10.3389/fmars.2022.936109
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- Extensive Remineralization of Peatland‐Derived Dissolved Organic Carbon and Ocean Acidification in the Sunda Shelf Sea, Southeast Asia Y. Zhou et al. 10.1029/2021JC017292
- Re-evaluation of carbonic acid dissociation constants across conditions and the implications for ocean acidification R. Woosley & J. Moon 10.1016/j.marchem.2023.104247
- Southern Ocean Acidification Revealed by Biogeochemical‐Argo Floats M. Mazloff et al. 10.1029/2022JC019530
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- Field Application of Automated Spectrophotometric Analyzer for High-Resolution In Situ Monitoring of pH in Dynamic Estuarine and Coastal Waters M. Nehir et al. 10.3389/fmars.2022.891876
- Acidification of the Nordic Seas F. Fransner et al. 10.5194/bg-19-979-2022
- Ocean Acidification and Long‐Term Changes in the Carbonate System Properties of the South Atlantic Ocean A. Piñango et al. 10.1029/2021GB007196
- Commentary: Overstated Potential for Seagrass Meadows to Mitigate Coastal Ocean Acidification A. Ricart et al. 10.3389/fmars.2022.884857
- A 37-year record of ocean acidification in the Southern California current W. Wolfe et al. 10.1038/s43247-023-01065-0
- Divergent trajectories of ocean warming and acidification E. Mortenson et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/ac3d57
- Soil organic matter interactions along the elevation gradient of the James Ross Island (Antarctica) V. Vlček et al. 10.5194/soil-10-813-2024
- Review—Nanopillar Structure in the Direction of Optical Biosensor On-Chip Integration A. Pradana et al. 10.1149/1945-7111/abfb3a
- Long-Term Trends in Estuarine Carbonate Chemistry in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico M. McCutcheon & X. Hu 10.3389/fmars.2022.793065
- Stabilization of organic soil using GGBS-based geopolymer and hybrid alkali-activated cement: a deep mixing model approach M. Singh et al. 10.1080/19386362.2025.2507735
- Global Surface Ocean Acidification Indicators From 1750 to 2100 L. Jiang et al. 10.1029/2022MS003563
- Dissimilar Sensitivities of Ocean Acidification Metrics to Anthropogenic Carbon Accumulation in the Central North Pacific Ocean and California Current Large Marine Ecosystem M. Arroyo et al. 10.1029/2022GL097835
- Daily variability of pH and temperature in seawater from a near-pristine oceanic atoll, Southwest Atlantic M. de Almeida et al. 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115670
- Ion Trios: Cause of Ion Specific Interactions in Aqueous Solutions and Path to a Better pH Definition P. May & E. May 10.1021/acsomega.4c07525
- Overstated Potential for Seagrass Meadows to Mitigate Coastal Ocean Acidification B. Van Dam et al. 10.3389/fmars.2021.729992
- Amplified Subsurface Signals of Ocean Acidification A. Fassbender et al. 10.1029/2023GB007843
- S.P.L. Sørensen, the pH concept and its early history H. Kragh 10.1007/s10698-025-09532-6
- Progression of ocean interior acidification over the industrial era J. Müller & N. Gruber 10.1126/sciadv.ado3103
- Unraveling natural carbonate variability in Narragansett Bay, RI using multiple high temporal resolution pH time series A. Baskind et al. 10.3389/fmars.2025.1552350
- Vertical distribution of pH in the top ~10 m of deep-ocean sediments: Analysis of a unique dataset C. Shao et al. 10.3389/fmars.2023.1126704
- Marine CO2 system variability along the northeast Pacific Inside Passage determined from an Alaskan ferry W. Evans et al. 10.5194/bg-19-1277-2022
- Contrasting Controls of Acidification Metrics Across Environmental Gradients in the North Pacific and the Adjunct Arctic Ocean: Insight From a Transregional Study Y. Wu et al. 10.1029/2021GL094473
- Dynamically downscaled projections of ocean acidification for the Bering Sea D. Pilcher et al. 10.1016/j.dsr2.2022.105055
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Latest update: 30 May 2025
Short summary
A decline in upper-ocean pH with time is typically ascribed to ocean acidification. A more quantitative interpretation is often confused by failing to recognize the implications of pH being a logarithmic transform of hydrogen ion concentration rather than an absolute measure. This can lead to an unwitting misinterpretation of pH data. We provide three real-world examples illustrating this and recommend the reporting of both hydrogen ion concentration and pH in studies of ocean chemical change.
A decline in upper-ocean pH with time is typically ascribed to ocean acidification. A more...
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