Ocean Acidification: The Other CO2Problem

2008/08/29 by Scott C. Doney, Victoria J. Fabry, Richard A. Feely +1 · 47 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses #Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies #Marine Biology and Ecology Research

paper · doi:10.1146/annurev.marine.010908.163834

openalex publication_date 2008/08/29 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02

Abstract

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), primarily from human fossil fuel combustion, reduces ocean pH and causes wholesale shifts in seawater carbonate chemistry. The process of ocean acidification is well documented in field data, and the rate will accelerate over this century unless future CO2 emissions are curbed dramatically. Acidification alters seawater chemical speciation and biogeochemical cycles of many elements and compounds. One well-known effect is the lowering of calcium carbonate saturation states, which impacts shell-forming marine organisms from plankton to benthic molluscs, echinoderms, and corals. Many calcifying species exhibit reduced calcification and growth rates in laboratory experiments under high-CO2 conditions. Ocean acidification also causes an increase in carbon fixation rates in some photosynthetic organisms (both calcifying and noncalcifying). The potential for marine organisms to adapt to increasing CO2 and broader implications for ocean ecosystems are not well known; both are high priorities for future research. Although ocean pH has varied in the geological past, paleo-events may be only imperfect analogs to current conditions.

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