2024/08/08 by Michael D. Jarrold, Jarrold, Michael
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Marine Biology and Ecology Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.24382/1hhh-v317
Atmospheric carbon dioxide is increasing year on year, mainly as a result of burning \nfossil fuels. Although carbon dioxide dissolves in the oceans, mitigating atmospheric \neffects, it does result in a reduction of the alkalinity of sea water; an effect termed \nOcean Acidification (OA). The subsequent changes in carbon chemistry will most \nlikely affect marine photosynthetic organisms in a number of ways; including the \nability of organisms to build calcium carbonate shells or skeletons (calcification) and \nprimary production. Previous work indicates that both processes respond to OA, but \nnot always in the same way. Consequently the aim of this review is to evaluate how \nour understanding of the effects of OA on calcification and primary production has \nprogressed in recent years. It is concluded after examining the literature that our \nunderstanding has not developed, with recent work either agreeing with or \ncontradicting past studies. However, there has been an increase in the number of \nmulti-factorial studies, and so from this point of view our understanding has \nincreased. To gain a better understanding, it is imperative that more comparable \ndata becomes available, which although this sounds self-evident does mean that a \nconsensus must be reached on the best methodology to use.