Increase in acidifying water in the western Arctic Ocean

• The up(t)ake of anthropogenic CO2 by the ocean decreases seawater pH and carbonate mineral aragonite saturation state (Omega(arag)), a process known as Ocean Acidification (OA). This can be detrimental to marine organisms and ecosystems(1,2). The Arctic Ocean is particularly sensitive to climate change(3) and aragonite is expected to become undersaturated (Omega(arag) < 1) there sooner than in other oceans(4). However, the extent and expansion rate of OA in this region are still unknown. Here we show that, between the 1990s and 2010, low Omega(arag) waters have expanded northwards at least 5 degrees, to 85 degrees N, and deepened 100 m, to 250m depth. Data from trans-western Arctic Ocean cruises show that Omega(arag) < 1 water has increased in the upper 250m from 5% to 31% of the total area north of 70 ffi N. Tracer data and model simulations suggest that increased Pacific Winter Water transport, driven by an anomalous circulation pattern and sea-ice retreat, is primarily responsible for the expansion, although local carbon recycling and anthropogenic CO2 uptake have also contributed. These results indicate more rapid acidification is occurring in the Arctic Ocean than the Pacific and Atlantic oceans(5-8), with the western Arctic Ocean the first open-ocean region with large-scale expansion of 'acidified' water directly observed in the upper water column.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Oceanografi, hydrologi och vattenresurser (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Oceanography, Hydrology and Water Resources (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Klimatforskning (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Climate Research (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

sea-ice

anthropogenic co2

atlantic-ocean

north-atlantic

carbonic-acid

acidification

seawater

system

shelf

undersaturation

Environmental Sciences & Ecology

Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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