Publication Date:
2022-05-26
Description:
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Nature Publishing Group for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in The ISME Journal 5 (2011): 1-7, doi:10.1038/ismej.2010.79.
Description:
The pH of the surface ocean is changing as a result of increases in
atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and there are concerns about potential
impacts of lower pH and associated alterations in seawater carbonate
chemistry on the biogeochemical processes in the ocean. However, it is
important to place these changes within the context of pH in the present day
ocean, which is not constant; it varies systematically with season, depth and
along productivity gradients. Yet this natural variability in pH has rarely been
considered in assessments of the effect of ocean acidification on marine
microbes. Surface pH can change as a consequence of microbial utilisation
and production of carbon dioxide, and to a lesser extent other microbiallymediated
processes such as nitrification. Useful comparisons can be made
with microbes in other aquatic environments that readily accommodate very
large and rapid pH change. For example, in many freshwater lakes, pH changes
that are orders of magnitude greater than those projected for the 22nd century
oceans can occur over periods of hours. Marine and freshwater assemblages
have always experienced variable pH conditions. Therefore, an appropriate null
hypothesis may be, until evidence is obtained to the contrary, that major
biogeochemical processes in the oceans other than calcification will not be
fundamentally different under future higher CO2 / lower pH conditions.
Description:
Funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and logistical support from
the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Center for Microbial Oceanography:
Research and Education (National Science Foundation grant EF-0424599) are
gratefully acknowledged.
Keywords:
Ocean acidification
;
Rapid pH change
;
Biogeochemical processes
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Preprint
Format:
application/pdf
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