Abstract
The problem of ocean acidification caused by the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is becoming increasingly prominent. Field observation in the northwest Pacific Ocean was carried out along the 150°E transect in November 2019. The distribution characteristics and influencing factors of the surface seawater carbonate chemistry, including dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA), pH, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) were investigated. DIC and TA ranged from 1915 to 2014 µmol kg−1 and 2243 to 2291 µmol kg−1, respectively; DIC in general decreased with decreasing latitude, but TA had no clear latitudinal gradient. pCO2 values increased with the decrease of latitude and were all below the atmospheric pCO2 level, ranging from 332 to 387 µatm. pH on the total hydrogen ion concentration scale (pHT) decreased with the decrease of latitude in the range of 8.044–8.110, while Ωarag increased with the decrease of latitude in the range of 2.61–3.88, suggesting that the spatial distributions of pHT and Ωarag were out of phase. Compared with the present, the predicted values of pHT and Ωarag by the end of this century would decrease remarkedly; larger declines were found in the higher pHT and Ωarag regions, resulting in the differences along the meridional gradient becoming smaller for both pHT and Ωarag.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brewer, P. G., 1997. Ocean chemistry of the fossil fuel CO2 signal: The haline signal of ‘business as usual’. Geophysical Research Letters, 24(11): 1367–1369, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/97gl01179.
Byrne, R. H., Mecking, S., Feely, R. A., and Liu, X., 2010. Direct observations of basin-wide acidification of the North Pacific Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters, 37: L02601, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2009gl040999.
Cai, W. J., Hu, X., Huang, W. J., Jiang, L. Q., Wang, Y., Peng, T. H., et al., 2010. Alkalinity distribution in the western North Atlantic Ocean margins. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 115: C08014, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2009jc005482.
Cai, W. J., Xu, Y. Y., Feely, R. A., Wanninkhof, R., Jonsson, B., Alin, S. R., et al., 2020. Controls on surface water carbonate chemistry along North American ocean margins. Nature Communications, 11(1): 2691, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16530-z.
Caldeira, K., and Wickett, M. E., 2003. Anthropogenic carbon and ocean pH. Nature, 425(6956): 365–365, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/425365a.
Dickson, A. G., 1990. Standard potential of the reaction: AgCl(s) + 1/2H2(g) = Ag(s) + HCl(aq), and the standard acidity constant of the ion HSO4− in synthetic sea water from 273.15 to 318.15K. Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics, 22(2): 113–127, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-117-8_26.
Dickson, A. G., and Millero, F. J., 1987. A comparison of the equilibrium constants for the dissociation of carbonic acid in seawater media. Deep-Sea Research, 34(10): 1733–1743, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0198-0149(87)90021-5.
Dlugokencky, E., and Tans, P., 2019. Trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA/ESRL), http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/global.html.
Dore, J. E., Lukas, R., Sadler, D. W., and Karl, D. M., 2003. Climate-driven changes to the atmospheric CO2 sink in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean. Nature, 424(6950): 754–757, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01885.
Dore, J. E., Lukas, R., Sadler, D. W., Church, M. J., and Karl, D. M., 2009. Physical and biogeochemical modulation of ocean acidification in the central North Pacific. PNAS, 106(30): 12235–12240, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0906044106.
Fabry, V. J., McClintock, J. B., Mathis, J. T., and Grebmeier, J. M., 2009. Ocean acidification at high latitudes: The Bell-weather. Oceanography, 22(4): 160–171, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2009.105.
Feely, R. A., Doney, S. C., and Cooley, S. R., 2009. Ocean acidification: Present conditions and future changes in a high-CO2 world. Oceanography, 22(4): 36–47, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2009.95.
Feely, R. A., Okazaki, R. R., Cai, W. J., Bednarsek, N., Alin, S. R., Byrne, R. H., et al., 2018. The combined effects of acidification and hypoxia on pH and aragonite saturation in the coastal waters of the California current ecosystem and the northern Gulf of Mexico. Continental Shelf Research, 152: 50–60, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.11.002.
Feely, R. A., Sabine, C. L., Lee, K., Berelson, W., Kleypas, J., Fabry, V. J., et al., 2004. Impact of anthropogenic CO2 on the CaCO3 system in the oceans. Science, 305(5682): 362–366, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1097329.
Gattuso, J. P., Allemand, D., and Frankignoulle, M., 1999. Photosynthesis and calcification at cellular, organismal and community levels in coral reefs: A review on interactions and control by carbonate chemistry. American Zoologist, 39(1): 160–183.
Iglesias-Rodriguez, M. D., Halloran, P. R., Rickaby, R. E., Hall, I. R., Colmenero-Hidalgo, E., Gittins, J. R., et al., 2008. Phytoplankton calcification in a high-CO2 world. Science, 320(5874): 336–340, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1154122.
Jiang, L. Q., Carter, B. R., and Feely, R. A., 2019. Surface ocean pH and buffer capacity: Past, present and future. Scientific Reports, 9: 18624, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55039-4.
Langdon, C., and Atkinson, M. J., 2005. Effect of elevated pCO2 on photosynthesis and calcification of corals and interactions with seasonal change in temperature/irradiance and nutrient enrichment. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 110(C9): C09S07, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2004jc002576.
McKinley, G. A., Rodenbeck, C., Gloor, M., Houweling, S., and Heimann, M., 2004. Pacific dominance to global air-sea CO2 flux variability: A novel atmospheric inversion agrees with ocean models. Geophysical Research Letters, 31(22): L22308, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2004gl021069.
Mehrbach, C., Culberson, C. H., Hawley, J. E., and Pytkowicz, R. M., 1973. Measurement of the apparent dissociation constants of carbonic acid in seawater at atmospheric pressure. Limnology and Oceanography, 18(6): 897–907, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1973.18.6.0897.
Millero, F. J., 2007. The marine inorganic carbon cycle. Chemical Reviews, 107(2): 308–341, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/cr0503557.
Mucci, A., 1983. The solubility of calcite and aragonite in sea-water at various salinities, temperatures, and one atmosphere total pressure. American Journal of Science, 283(7): 780–799, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.283.7.780.
Murata, A., Kumamoto, Y., Sasaki, K. I., Watanabe, S., and Fukasawa, M., 2009. Decadal increases of anthropogenic CO2 along 149°E in the western North Pacific. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 114(4): C04018.
Orr, J. C., Fabry, V. J., Aumont, O., Bopp, L., Doney, S. C., Feely, R. A., et al., 2005. Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms. Nature, 437(7059): 681–686, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04095.
Pierrot, D., Lewis, E., and Wallace, D. W. R., 2006. MS Excel program developed for CO2 system calculations. ORNL/CDIAC-105a. Carbon dioxide information analysis center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3334/CDIAC/otg.CO2SYS_XLS_CDIAC105a.
Qiu, B., 2001. Kuroshio and Oyashio Currents. Academic Press, San Diego, 1413–1425.
Sabine, C. L., Feely, R. A., Gruber, N., Key, R. M., Lee, K., Bullister, J. L., et al., 2004. The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2. Science, 305(5682): 367–371, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1097403.
Schlitzer, R., 2018. Ocean Data View. https://odv.awi.de.
Uppström, L. R., 1974. Boron/chlorinity ratio of deep-sea water from Pacific Ocean. Deep-Sea Research, 21(2): 161–162, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0011-7471(74)90074-6.
Wakita, M., Watanabe, S., Murata, A., Tsurushima, N., and Honda, M., 2010. Decadal change of dissolved inorganic carbon in the subarctic western North Pacific Ocean. Tellus B, 62(5): 608–620.
Xue, L., Cai, W. J., Jiang, L. Q., and Wei, Q., 2021. Why are surface ocean pH and CaCO3 saturation state often out of phase in spatial patterns and seasonal cycles?. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 35(7): e2021GB006949, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gb006949.
Xue, L., Yang, X., Li, Y., Li, L., Jiang, L. Q., Xin, M., et al., 2020. Processes controlling sea surface pH and aragonite saturation state in a large northern temperate bay: Contrasting temperature effects. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 125(7): e2020JG005805, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jg005805.
Zeebe, R. E., and Wolf-Gladrow, D., 2001. CO2 in Seawater: Equilibrium, Kinetics, Isotopes, Elsevier Oceanography Series. 65. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 346pp.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province (No. 2020 ZLYS04), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFA0604300), the Qingdao Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (No. 2018SDKJ0105-1), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 202072001), and the Young Scholars Program of Shandong University (No. 2018WLJH43). We wish to thank crew members of the R/V ‘Dongfanghong 3’ for their help during the investigation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mou, L., Zhang, H., Chen, Z. et al. Processes Controlling the Carbonate Chemistry of Surface Seawater Along the 150°E Transect in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. J. Ocean Univ. China 21, 1529–1537 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-022-5207-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-022-5207-8