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Increase in acidifying water in the western Arctic Ocean

Nature Climate Change volume 7, pages 195–199 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

The uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the ocean decreases seawater pH and carbonate mineral aragonite saturation state (Ωarag), a process known as Ocean Acidification (OA). This can be detrimental to marine organisms and ecosystems1,2. The Arctic Ocean is particularly sensitive to climate change3 and aragonite is expected to become undersaturated (Ωarag < 1) there sooner than in other oceans4. However, the extent and expansion rate of OA in this region are still unknown. Here we show that, between the 1990s and 2010, low Ωarag waters have expanded northwards at least 5°, to 85° N, and deepened 100 m, to 250 m depth. Data from trans-western Arctic Ocean cruises show that Ωarag < 1 water has increased in the upper 250 m from 5% to 31% of the total area north of 70° N. Tracer data and model simulations suggest that increased Pacific Winter Water transport, driven by an anomalous circulation pattern and sea-ice retreat, is primarily responsible for the expansion, although local carbon recycling and anthropogenic CO2 uptake have also contributed. These results indicate more rapid acidification is occurring in the Arctic Ocean than the Pacific and Atlantic oceans5,6,7,8, with the western Arctic Ocean the first open-ocean region with large-scale expansion of ‘acidified’ water directly observed in the upper water column.

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Figure 1: Latitudinal distributions of aragonite mineral saturation state (Ωarag) in the western Arctic Ocean from multiple cruises during 1994–2010 and their locations.
Figure 2: Increase in subsurface area of ‘acidified’ water in the western Arctic Ocean between 1994 and 2010.
Figure 3: Data and model simulations of factors influencing aragonite saturation in the western Arctic Ocean.
Figure 4: Schematic representation of the extent of Ωarag change driven by environmental and climate changes in the western Arctic Ocean between the early 1990s and 2010s.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41230529, 41476172, 41476173 and 41406221), Chinese Projects for Investigations and Assessments of the Arctic and Antarctic (CHINARE2012-2016 for 01-04, 02-01, 03-04, 04-04 and 04-03), and Chinese International Cooperation Projects (2015DFG22010, IC201513). The University of Delaware group (formerly at the University of Georgia) was supported by NSF (ARC-0909330 and PLR-1304337) and NOAA (NA09OAR4310078). We thank R. Wanninkhof and Y. Wang for their contributions to the programme and P. Yager for providing CO2 data of SHEBA 1998. This is PMEL contribution number: 4542.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Global Change and Marine-Atmospheric Chemistry of State Oceanic Administration (SOA), Third Institute of Oceanography, SOA, Xiamen 361005, China

    Di Qi, Liqi Chen, Zhongyong Gao, Heng Sun, Liyang Zhan & Yuanhui Zhang

  2. College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China

    Di Qi & Min Chen

  3. School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA

    Baoshan Chen & Wei-Jun Cai

  4. Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA

    Baoshan Chen & Wei-Jun Cai

  5. Key Lab of Physical Oceanography, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China

    Wenli Zhong

  6. Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory/NOAA Seattle, Washington 98115, USA

    Richard A. Feely

  7. Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 461, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden

    Leif G. Anderson

  8. Second Institute of Oceanography, SOA, Hangzhou 310012, China

    Jianfang Chen

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Contributions

D.Q., L.C., B.C. and W.-J.C. contributed equally to this paper. L.C. and W.-J.C. designed the program and D.Q., B.C., Z.G. and H.S. executed the field work. D.Q., B.C., L.C. and W.-J.C. analysed the data and prepared the paper. W.Z., M.C., J.C., L.Z., Y.Z. and L.G.A. contributed materials and data. All authors contributed to discussion and writing.

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Correspondence to Liqi Chen or Wei-Jun Cai.

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Qi, D., Chen, L., Chen, B. et al. Increase in acidifying water in the western Arctic Ocean. Nature Clim Change 7, 195–199 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3228

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