Progressive seawater acidification on the Great Barrier Reef continental shelf.

ABSTRACT: Coral reefs are highly sensitive to ocean acidification due to rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. We present 10 years of data (2009-2019) on the long-term trends and sources of variation in the carbon chemistry from two fixed stations in the Australian Great Barrier Reef. Data from the subtropical mid-shelf GBRWIS comprised 3-h instrument records, and those from the tropical coastal NRSYON were monthly seawater samples. Both stations recorded significant variation in seawater CO₂ fugacity (fCO₂), attributable to seasonal, daytime, temperature and salinity fluctuations. Superimposed over this variation, fCO₂ progressively increased by > 2.0 ± 0.3 µatm year^-1 at both stations. Seawater temperature and salinity also increased througho

SUBMITTER: Fabricius KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7592051 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature