Understanding large-scale patterns of future Ocean Acidification

自工业革命开始以来，世界海洋吸收了大约30%的人为二氧化碳排放。海洋对二氧化碳的吸收与水化学变化有关，这种变化导致海水pH值和碳酸盐离子浓度下降，通常被称为海洋酸化。碳酸盐离子的有效性对于海洋钙化生物形成由不同结晶形式的碳酸钙组成的骨架或贝壳至关重要。尽管压倒性的全球平均海洋酸化信号超出了自然变异性的水平，但观测数据和地球系统模型都表明，碳酸盐离子浓度和pH值的趋势存在相当大的空间变异性，这一点尚未完全理解。阐明决定海洋酸化区域特征的机制需要协调一致的建模和数据分析工作。该奖项支持夏威夷大学的一个研究小组使用地球系统模型的层次结构来调查当前和未来海洋酸化的区域模式。过程研究将侧重于洋流、混合、风、海-气气体交换对二氧化碳浓度增加的生物地球化学反应的空间变异性的影响。该项目将进一步为近岸海洋酸化和生态系统影响的数值评估提供重要的边界条件。外联活动包括制作可在全国许多科学博物馆和大学使用的《球体上的科学》和《魔法星球》系统上放映的叙述海洋酸化动画。

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.