View in EDS

Evidence of prolonged aragonite undersaturations in the bottom waters of the southern Bering Sea shelf from autonomous sensors.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Evidence of prolonged aragonite undersaturations in the bottom waters of the southern Bering Sea shelf from autonomous sensors.
Authors: Mathis, Jeremy T.1,2 jeremy.mathis@noaa.gov, Cross, Jessica N.2, Monacci, Natalie2, Feely, Richard A.1, Stabeno, Phyllis1
Source: Deep-Sea Research Part II, Topical Studies in Oceanography. Nov2014, Vol. 109, p125-133. 9p.
Subjects: Aragonite, Bottom water (Oceanography), Seasonal temperature variations, Saturation (Chemistry), Dissolved organic matter, Carbonate minerals
Geographic Terms: Bering Sea
Abstract: The southeastern shelf of the Bering Sea is a dynamic area that experiences seasonal variability in primary production and remineralization of organic matter, both of which control the carbon biogeochemistry of the water column. Surface-water partial pressure of carbon dioxide ( p CO 2 ) is greatly reduced in summer by biological production, which increases carbonate mineral saturation states ( Ω ). In contrast, the export of large quantities of organic matter from surface blooms drives an active remineralization loop that sharply increases p CO 2 near the bottom, lowering pH and suppressing Ω . New observations from moored biogeochemical sensors in 2011 showed that seasonal net community production lowers surface-water p CO 2 , causing large gradients between the ocean and atmosphere that are sustained throughout the summer, confirming that these waters likely remain supersaturated with respect to aragonite throughout the open water season. On the other hand, moored sensors deployed near the bottom showed that p CO 2 levels exceed 500 μatm by early June and remain at these high levels well into the autumn months, indicating that the bottom waters are likely continuously undersaturated in aragonite for at least several months during each year. Only a small fraction of the increased p CO 2 can currently be attributed to the intrusion of anthropogenic CO 2 from the atmosphere, while the majority is due to natural respiration processes. The biological impacts, along with the timing and duration of these undersaturation events, could play a role in the development of larval and juvenile calcifiers in the region and will change as anthropogenic CO 2 concentrations continue to rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Deep-Sea Research Part II, Topical Studies in Oceanography is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
Description
Abstract:The southeastern shelf of the Bering Sea is a dynamic area that experiences seasonal variability in primary production and remineralization of organic matter, both of which control the carbon biogeochemistry of the water column. Surface-water partial pressure of carbon dioxide ( p CO 2 ) is greatly reduced in summer by biological production, which increases carbonate mineral saturation states ( Ω ). In contrast, the export of large quantities of organic matter from surface blooms drives an active remineralization loop that sharply increases p CO 2 near the bottom, lowering pH and suppressing Ω . New observations from moored biogeochemical sensors in 2011 showed that seasonal net community production lowers surface-water p CO 2 , causing large gradients between the ocean and atmosphere that are sustained throughout the summer, confirming that these waters likely remain supersaturated with respect to aragonite throughout the open water season. On the other hand, moored sensors deployed near the bottom showed that p CO 2 levels exceed 500 μatm by early June and remain at these high levels well into the autumn months, indicating that the bottom waters are likely continuously undersaturated in aragonite for at least several months during each year. Only a small fraction of the increased p CO 2 can currently be attributed to the intrusion of anthropogenic CO 2 from the atmosphere, while the majority is due to natural respiration processes. The biological impacts, along with the timing and duration of these undersaturation events, could play a role in the development of larval and juvenile calcifiers in the region and will change as anthropogenic CO 2 concentrations continue to rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:09670645
DOI:10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.07.019