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Cold-water corals in the Subpolar North Atlantic Ocean exposed to aragonite undersaturation if the 2 °C global warming target is not met

dc.contributor.authorGarcía-Ibáñez, Maribel I.
dc.contributor.authorBates, Nicholas R.
dc.contributor.authorBakker, Dorothee C.E.
dc.contributor.authorFontela, Marcos
dc.contributor.authorVelo, Antón
dc.date.accessioned2021-07-19T13:43:50Z
dc.date.available2021-07-19T13:43:50Z
dc.date.issued2021-06
dc.description.abstractThe net uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is changing the ocean’s chemical state. Such changes, commonly known as ocean acidification, include a reduction in pH and the carbonate ion concentration ([CO3 2− ]), which in turn lowers oceanic saturation states for calcium carbonate (CaCO3) minerals. The values for aragonite (aragonite; one of the main CaCO3 minerals formed by marine calcifying organisms) influence the calcification rate and geographic distribution of cold-water corals (CWCs), important for biodiversity. Here, high-quality measurements, collected on thirteen cruises along the same track during 1991–2018, are used to determine the long-term changes in Ωaragonite in the Irminger and Iceland Basins of the North Atlantic Ocean, providing the first trends of Ωaragonite in the deep waters of these basins. The entire water column of both basins showed significant negative aragonite trends between − 0.0014 ± 0.0002 and − 0.0052 ± 0.0007 per year. The decrease in aragonite in the intermediate waters, where nearly half of the CWC reefs of the study region are located, caused the aragonite isolines to rapidly migrate upwards at a rate between 6 and 34 m per year. The main driver of the decline in Ωaragonite in the Irminger and Iceland Basins was the increase in anthropogenic CO2. But this was partially offset by increases in salinity (in Subpolar Mode Water), enhanced ventilation (in upper Labrador Sea Water), and increases in alkalinity (in classical Labrador Sea Water, cLSW; and overflow waters). We also found that water mass aging reinforced the aragonite decrease in cLSW. Based on these aragonite trends over the last three decades, we project that the entire water column of the Irminger and Iceland Basins will likely be undersaturated for aragonite when in equilibrium with an atmospheric mole fraction of CO2 (xCO2) of ~880 ppmv, corresponding to climate model projections for the end of the century based on the highest CO2 emission scenarios. However, intermediate waters will likely be aragonite undersaturated when in equilibrium with an atmospheric xCO2 exceeding ~630 ppmv, an xCO2 level slightly above that corresponding to 2 ◦C global warming, thus exposing CWCs inhabiting the intermediate waters to undersaturation for aragonite.pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorshipNE/P021263/1, OCE-1258622, UID/Multi/04326/2019, CEECINST/00114/2018,pt_PT
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.gloplacha.2021.103480pt_PT
dc.identifier.eissn1872-6364
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/16785
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.publisherElsevierpt_PT
dc.relationOur common future ocean in the Earth system – quantifying coupled cycles of carbon, oxygen, and nutrients for determining and achieving safe operating spaces with respect to tipping points
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/pt_PT
dc.subjectOcean acidificationpt_PT
dc.subjectAragonite saturation statept_PT
dc.subjectAtlantic Meridional Overturning Circulationpt_PT
dc.subjectEastern-Subpolar North Atlantic Oceanpt_PT
dc.titleCold-water corals in the Subpolar North Atlantic Ocean exposed to aragonite undersaturation if the 2 °C global warming target is not metpt_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleOur common future ocean in the Earth system – quantifying coupled cycles of carbon, oxygen, and nutrients for determining and achieving safe operating spaces with respect to tipping points
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/820989/EU
oaire.citation.startPage103480pt_PT
oaire.citation.titleGlobal and Planetary Changept_PT
oaire.citation.volume201pt_PT
oaire.fundingStreamH2020
person.familyNameMorente Fontela
person.givenNameMarcos
person.identifiers21hYoYAAAAJ&hl
person.identifier.ciencia-idF312-A970-8A93
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-7486-0922
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100008530
project.funder.nameEuropean Commission
rcaap.rightsopenAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationae5042ff-ec36-4de3-a262-0e448c0bf0d9
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryae5042ff-ec36-4de3-a262-0e448c0bf0d9
relation.isProjectOfPublicationab67e6fa-87a6-47e6-9e7d-8eeb6cf1ac43
relation.isProjectOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryab67e6fa-87a6-47e6-9e7d-8eeb6cf1ac43

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