eCite Digital Repository
The exposure of the Great Barrier Reef to ocean acidification
Citation
Mongin, M and Baird, ME and Tilbrook, B and Matear, RJ and Lenton, A and Herzfeld, M and Wild-Allen, K and Skerratt, J and Margvelashvili, N and Robson, BJ and Duarte, CM and Gustafsson, MSM and Ralph, PJ and Steven, ADL, The exposure of the Great Barrier Reef to ocean acidification, Nature Communications, 7 Article 10732. ISSN 2041-1723 (2016) [Refereed Article]
 | PDF 850Kb |
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2016 the authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Abstract
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is founded on reef-building corals. Corals build their exoskeleton with aragonite, but ocean acidification is lowering the aragonite saturation state of seawater (Ωa). The downscaling of ocean acidification projections from global to GBR scales requires the set of regional drivers controlling Ωa to be resolved. Here we use a regional coupled circulation–biogeochemical model and observations to estimate the Ωa experienced by the 3,581 reefs of the GBR, and to apportion the contributions of the hydrological cycle, regional hydrodynamics and metabolism on Ωa variability. We find more detail, and a greater range (1.43), than previously compiled coarse maps of Ωa of the region (0.4), or in observations (1.0). Most of the variability in Ωa is due to processes upstream of the reef in question. As a result, future decline in Ωa is likely to be steeper on the GBR than currently projected by the IPCC assessment report.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | biogeochemistry, coral reefs, marine chemistry |
| Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
| Research Group: | Oceanography |
| Research Field: | Chemical oceanography |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences |
| UTAS Author: | Tilbrook, B (Dr Bronte Tilbrook) |
| UTAS Author: | Lenton, A (Dr Andrew Lenton) |
| ID Code: | 117245 |
| Year Published: | 2016 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 52 |
| Deposited By: | CRC-Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems |
| Deposited On: | 2017-06-05 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-11-01 |
| Downloads: | 154 View Download Statistics |
Repository Staff Only: item control page