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Nov 17, 2015
Reflections on a three-decade legacy
The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) will come to a close at t...
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Nov 17, 2015
Use of and access to content on this website
Text and images produced by IGBP in house are free to use with appropriate credi...
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Nov 12, 2015
Bella Gaia performance and panel discussion to mark IGBP's closure
A musical performance by Bella Gaia will celebrate the achievements and legacy o...
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Towards Future Earth:
evolution or revolution?
During its three decades of existence, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Pro...
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A personal note on IGBP and the social sciences
Humans are an integral component of the Earth system as conceptualised by IGBP. João Morais recalls key milestones in IGBP’s engagement with the social sciences and offers some words of advice for Future Earth.
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IGBP and Earth observation:
a co-evolution
The iconic images of Earth beamed back by the earliest spacecraft helped to galvanise interest in our planet’s environment. The subsequent evolution and development of satellites for Earth observation has been intricately linked with that of IGBP and other global-change research programmes, write Jack Kaye and Cat Downy .
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Deltas at risk
Around 500 million people worldwide live on deltas, but many of the world's deltas are sinking due ...
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Climate change: the state of the science
A new data visualization released on the first day of the plenary negotiations at the UNFCCC’s clima...
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Climate Change:
the State of the Science
Videos now online from the Stockholm public forum to mark the launch of the IPCC's climate report, 2...
Published: September 26, 2012
Natural labs help scientists study ocean acidification
News |
Scientists are using “natural laboratories” -- seafloor vents that release millions of streams of small bubbles of carbon dioxide - to study how ocean acidification may affect the future of coral reefs and other marine ecosystems as global carbon dioxide emissions rise.
These techniques and others were discussed Tuesday during the second press briefing at the Third International Symposium on The Ocean in a High-CO2 World in Monterey, Calif.
When Dr. Katharina Fabricius of the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Australia discovered the carbon dioxide vents in Papua New Guinea “ocean acidification wasn’t an issue.” Her recent work at the sites would show that “seagrasses do amazingly well, but coral reefs cannot survive when conditions get too corrosive.”
“There is an absolute threshold for coral reefs of pH 7.8,” she added.
Ocean acidification refers to the change in the pH level, which measures the acidity of a liquid. The pH of the ocean is changing as the ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Indeed, the oceans are now 30% more acidic than at the start of the industrial revolution 250 years ago.
Dr. David Kline of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California, adapted a deep water experiment to create an underwater “time machine” so levels of carbon dioxide could be controlled to projected levels.
“Our work suggests coral reefs may be in more danger than we thought,” he said.
But it is not just coral reefs affected. All organisms with hard shells or exoskeletons will be forced to adapt to rapidly changing ocean chemistry.
Some organisms are responding in unexpected ways, said Dr. David Hutchins of the University of Southern California. Phytoplankton, tiny organisms at the base of the food chain are showing surprising responses. “Without them we wouldn’t have fish and whales,” he said.
“One type that provides nitrogen to the food chain actually produces more nitrogen in high carbon dioxide situations,” Dr. Hutchins said. “It seems a switch was triggered to produce more nitrogen. The surprise was that when we changed conditions back again the trigger appeared to be stuck in the ‘on’ position. We’re trying to figure out why they should do that.”
The three scientists were joined on the panel by Dr. Steve Widdicombe of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the United Kingdom, who said that a suite of techniques is necessary to better understand how ecosystems respond to ocean acidification.
“Ecosystems are in a world that changes rapidly and frequently,” he said. “We need to understand how they can live with the systems they have and what they need to adapt.”
When Dr. Katharina Fabricius of the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Australia discovered the carbon dioxide vents in Papua New Guinea “ocean acidification wasn’t an issue.” Her recent work at the sites would show that “seagrasses do amazingly well, but coral reefs cannot survive when conditions get too corrosive.”
“There is an absolute threshold for coral reefs of pH 7.8,” she added.
Ocean acidification refers to the change in the pH level, which measures the acidity of a liquid. The pH of the ocean is changing as the ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Indeed, the oceans are now 30% more acidic than at the start of the industrial revolution 250 years ago.
Dr. David Kline of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California, adapted a deep water experiment to create an underwater “time machine” so levels of carbon dioxide could be controlled to projected levels.
“Our work suggests coral reefs may be in more danger than we thought,” he said.
But it is not just coral reefs affected. All organisms with hard shells or exoskeletons will be forced to adapt to rapidly changing ocean chemistry.
Some organisms are responding in unexpected ways, said Dr. David Hutchins of the University of Southern California. Phytoplankton, tiny organisms at the base of the food chain are showing surprising responses. “Without them we wouldn’t have fish and whales,” he said.
“One type that provides nitrogen to the food chain actually produces more nitrogen in high carbon dioxide situations,” Dr. Hutchins said. “It seems a switch was triggered to produce more nitrogen. The surprise was that when we changed conditions back again the trigger appeared to be stuck in the ‘on’ position. We’re trying to figure out why they should do that.”
The three scientists were joined on the panel by Dr. Steve Widdicombe of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the United Kingdom, who said that a suite of techniques is necessary to better understand how ecosystems respond to ocean acidification.
“Ecosystems are in a world that changes rapidly and frequently,” he said. “We need to understand how they can live with the systems they have and what they need to adapt.”
Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this press release are those of individual scientists and may not represent the views of conference sponsors.
IGBP closed at the end of 2015. This website is no longer updated.
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Global Change Magazine No. 84
This final issue of the magazine takes stock of IGBP’s scientific and institutional accomplishments as well as its contributions to policy and capacity building. It features interviews of several past...
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Global Change Magazine No. 83
This issue features a special section on carbon. You can read about peak greenhouse-gas emissions in China, the mitigation of black carbon emissions and the effect of the 2010-2011 La Niña event on gl...
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