TY - JOUR
T1 - Rapid progression of ocean acidification in the California Current System
AU - Gruber, Nicolas
AU - Hauri, Claudine
AU - Lachkar, Zouhair
AU - Loher, Damian
AU - Frölicher, Thomas L.
AU - Plattner, Gian Kasper
PY - 2012/7/13
Y1 - 2012/7/13
N2 - Nearshore waters of the California Current System (California CS) already have a low carbonate saturation state, making them particularly susceptible to ocean acidification. We used eddy-resolving model simulations to study the potential development of ocean acidification in this system up to the year 2050 under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios A2 and B1 scenarios. In both scenarios, the saturation state of aragonite Ωarag is projected to drop rapidly, with much of the nearshore region developing summer-long undersaturation in the top 60 meters within the next 30 years. By 2050, waters with Ωarag above 1.5 will have largely disappeared, and more than half of the waters will be undersaturated year-round. Habitats along the sea floor will become exposed to year-round undersaturation within the next 20 to 30 years. These projected events have potentially major implications for the rich and diverse ecosystem that characterizes the California CS.
AB - Nearshore waters of the California Current System (California CS) already have a low carbonate saturation state, making them particularly susceptible to ocean acidification. We used eddy-resolving model simulations to study the potential development of ocean acidification in this system up to the year 2050 under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios A2 and B1 scenarios. In both scenarios, the saturation state of aragonite Ωarag is projected to drop rapidly, with much of the nearshore region developing summer-long undersaturation in the top 60 meters within the next 30 years. By 2050, waters with Ωarag above 1.5 will have largely disappeared, and more than half of the waters will be undersaturated year-round. Habitats along the sea floor will become exposed to year-round undersaturation within the next 20 to 30 years. These projected events have potentially major implications for the rich and diverse ecosystem that characterizes the California CS.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.1216773
DO - 10.1126/science.1216773
M3 - Article
C2 - 22700658
AN - SCOPUS:84863784517
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 337
SP - 220
EP - 223
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 6091
ER -