Understanding large-scale patterns of future Ocean Acidification

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The world's oceans have taken up approximately 30% of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The oceanic uptake of CO2 is associated with a change in water chemistry that results in a decrease of seawater pH and carbonate ion concentrations, commonly referred to as Ocean Acidification. The availability of carbonate ions is crucial for marine calcifying organisms to form their skeletons or shells that are made of different crystalline forms of calcium carbonate.In spite of the overwhelming global mean Ocean Acidification signal, which exceeds levels of natural variability, both observational data and Earth System Models indicate a considerable spatial variability of trends carbonate ion concentrations and pH, which has not been fully understood. Elucidating the mechanisms determining the regional characteristics of Ocean Acidification requires a concerted modeling and data analysis effort.This award supports a team of researchers at the University of Hawaii to investigate the regional patterns of current and future Ocean Acidification using a hierarchy of Earth System Models. Process studies will focus on the effect of ocean currents, mixing, winds, air-sea gas exchange on the spatial variability of the biogeochemical responses to increasing CO2 concentrations. The project will further provide important boundary conditions for near-shore numerical assessments of the impacts of Ocean Acidification and ecosystems. Outreach activities include the development of narrated Ocean Acidification animations that can be shown on Science on the Sphere and Magic Planet systems used by many science museums and universities across the country.