Ambio

, Volume 46, Issue 5, pp 543–553 | Cite as

Economic effects of ocean acidification: Publication patterns and directions for future research

Review
First Online:
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Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

Human societies derive economic benefit from marine systems, yet these benefits may be modified as humans drive environmental change. Here, we conducted the first systematic review of literature on the potential economic effects of ocean acidification. We identified that while there is a growing literature discussing this topic, assessments of the direction and magnitude of anticipated economic change remain limited. The few assessments which have been conducted indicate largely negative economic effects of ocean acidification. Insights are, however, limited as the scope of the studies remains restricted. We propose that understanding of this topic will benefit from using standard approaches (e.g. timescales and emissions scenarios) to consider an increasing range of species/habitats and ecosystem services over a range of spatial scales. The resulting understanding could inform decisions such that we maintain, or enhance, economic services obtained from future marine environments.

Keywords

Carbon dioxide Climate change Ecosystem services Socio-economic Systematic literature review Warming 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Jon Havenhand for inspiring this collaboration and Craig Styan for his support while we were conducting this review. Financial support for LJF was provided by Santos.

Supplementary material

13280_2017_895_MOESM1_ESM.xlsx (27 kb)
Table S1 (XLSX 27 kb)

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Copyright information

© Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.School of Energy and Resources, UCL AustraliaUniversity College LondonAdelaideAustralia
  2. 2.Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)NIVA Region WestBergenNorway

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