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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.
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https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2020-348
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2020-348
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Preprints

  12 Oct 2020

12 Oct 2020

Review status: a revised version of this preprint was accepted for the journal BG and is expected to appear here in due course.

Technical note: Interpreting pH changes

Andrea J. Fassbender1, James C. Orr2, and Andrew G. Dickson3 Andrea J. Fassbender et al.
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  • 1Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA
  • 2LSCE/IPSL, Laboratoiredes Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  • 3Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Received: 23 Sep 2020 – Accepted for review: 09 Oct 2020 – Discussion started: 12 Oct 2020

Abstract. The number and quality of ocean pH measurements has increased substantially over the past few decades such that trends, variability, and spatial patterns of change are now being evaluated. However, comparing pH changes across domains with different initial pH values can be misleading because a pH change reflects a relative change in the hydrogen ion concentration ([H+]–expressed in mol kg−1) rather than an absolute change in [H+]. We recommend that [H+] be used in addition to pH when describing such changes and provide three examples illustrating why.

How to cite. Fassbender, A. J., Orr, J. C., and Dickson, A. G.: Technical note: Interpreting pH changes, Biogeosciences Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2020-348, in review, 2020.

Andrea J. Fassbender et al.

 
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Andrea J. Fassbender et al.

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https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2020-348-supplement

Andrea J. Fassbender et al.

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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.
Read more
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Biogeosciences

An interactive open-access journal of the European Geosciences Union

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