Ocean Acidification Understanding the Effects, Exploring the Solutions

About this book

Language: English

Carbon dioxide emissions, resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels by human activity, reinforce the greenhouse effect and cause climate disruption. While public awareness of this global problem is growing, ocean acidification, described as “the other CO₂ problem”, is still considerably unknown. In this book, the authors answer ten key questions on the biogeochemical basis of acidification, on past, current and future trends, on the impact on marine organisms and humans, and finally on remediation measures. It draws its answers from fields as diverse as biogeochemistry, ecology, physiology, evolution, aquaculture and fisheries, economics and sociology.

Contents

- Introduction
Why a book on ocean acidification?
What is ocean acidification?
Machines, fossil fuels and people
Greenhouse effect and CO₂
Some like it hot!
The fate of anthropogenic CO₂

- How long have we been talking about ocean acidification?
Just acidity!
How is pH measured?
How are other carbonate chemistry parameters measured?
pH monitoring and the emergence of the term ocean acidification
Scientific awareness
Public awareness

- How is ocean acidity evolving?
How far has pH fallen since the Industrial Revolution?
What pH values are expected by 2100?
Has the ocean ever been acidified?
Does the current period have an equivalent in the geological past?

- Is ocean acidification a homogeneous phenomenon on the scale of the global ocean?
How do pH and carbonate parameters vary in the ocean?
How does pH vary over time?
How has pH evolved in different regions of the ocean?
How will pH evolve in different regions of the ocean?

- What are the biological impacts of acidification?
Physiological impacts of CO₂ enrichment
Animal tolerance to CO₂ enrichment
Impacts of ocean acidification on calcifying organisms
Larval stages, more sensitive than juveniles and adults
Impacts on behaviour
Contrasting responses by species
Photosynthetic organisms, not necessarily winners in a CO₂-enriched environment
How do organisms compensate for the effects of acidification, and at what cost?

- Can marine organisms “adapt” to acidification?
What is adaptation?
Acclimatisation versus adaptation
Adaptation is possible, it’s a matter of time!
How can we study the plasticity and adaptation of marine organisms to ocean acidification?
Can we “promote” evolutionary adaptation?

- How does ocean acidification affect us?
Notions of ecosystem services
Exploiting marine resources
Will we still have oysters in 2100?

- How does acidification interact with other factors in climate change?
Everything’s on the move!
The ocean overheats
Temperature governs species distribution
Courage, let’s run!
Marine heatwaves
I breathe, therefore I am!
How are global warming and ocean deoxygenation linked?
Some effects of oxygen depletion
Acidification, warming and deoxygenation: a deadly trio?

- How to take action?
Mitigation versus adaptation
Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions
Greening the ocean
Boosting ocean alkalinity
The limits of knowledge

- What’s next?
Reinforcing observation
Expanding the scale of experiments
Assessing and implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies: the job of the century
Protection, conservation and restoration: nature-based, no-regret solutions

Acknowledgments
Acronyms and abbreviations
References

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