Ocean Acidification of the Greater Caribbean Region 1999-2009

Dwight Gledhill, CIMAS/U. Miami, dgledhill@rsmas.miami.edu (Presenter)
Rik Wanninkhof, NOAA/AOML, rik.wanninkhof@noaa.gov
Shari Yvon-Lewis, Texas A&M, syvon-lewis@ocean.tamu.edu
Denis Pierrot, CIMAS/U.Miami, dpierrot@rsmas.miami.edu

The increase in surface water CO2 levels in response to atmospheric CO2 increases is having a dramatic effect on surface seawater chemistry and is believed to impact ocean ecosystems and biota. Coral reefs and shell bearing organisms, in particular, are being affected. Characterizing the spatial and temporal chemical changes in seawater carbon chemistry is challenging due to the inherent difficulty of obtaining sufficient samples. Particularly in the inland seas, such as the Greater Caribbean region (GCR; including the Gulf of Mexico), there is a paucity of data. Here we show the results of a powerful high-resolution mapping technique to estimate carbonate saturation state from a combination of remotely sensed products, in situ observations of the inorganic carbon species, and empirical algorithms relating the carbonate saturation state to the remotely sensed products.

The maps are derived from comprehensive CO2 partial pressure (pCO2sw) and Alkalinity (AT) surveys of the GCR surface waters. These are used to create a regionally specific algorithm for application to coupled satellite and modeled data sets to generate GCR seasonal fields of sea surface AT. In turn, the coupled sea surface pCO2sw – AT algorithms are used to generate GCR seasonal fields of sea surface pH and aragonite saturation state. The results show a systematic decrease in GCR sea surface pH between 1999 and 2009 but with significant regional and seasonal variability.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Global Change Impact & Vulnerability   (Tue 11:30 AM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Yvon-Lewis, Shari: Ocean Acidification of the Greater Caribbean Region 1999 - 2009 ...details

Poster Location ID: 180