What is it about?
This study looks at the combined impacts of hypoxia and acidification, two major environmental stressors affecting coastal systems, in a seasonally stratified basin. Here, the surface water experiences less seasonality in pH than the bottom water despite higher process rates. This is due to a substantial reduction in the acid-base buffering capacity of the bottom water as it turns hypoxic in summer. This highlights the crucial role of the buffering capacity as a modulating factor in pH dynamics.
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This page is a summary of: Biogeochemical processes and buffering capacity concurrently affect acidification in a seasonally hypoxic coastal marine basin, Biogeosciences, March 2015, Copernicus GmbH,
DOI: 10.5194/bg-12-1561-2015.
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Supplement of "Biogeochemical processes and buffering capacity concurrently affect acidification in a seasonally hypoxic coastal marine basin"
Table S1. Measurements during the 2012 Den Osse sampling campaign. Wind speed refers to the daily-averaged wind speed at 10 m above the surface, which was obtained from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. Figure S1. Proton budget for the Den Osse basin at 3, 6, 10, 15, 20 and 32 m depth for the months of March, May, August and November. The closure term is calculated as the difference between the calculated and measured net change in [H+].
Press release by Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre
Coastal areas are impacted by multiple natural and anthropogenic processes and experience stronger pH fluctuations than the open ocean. These variations can weaken or intensify the ocean acidification signal induced by increasing atmospheric pCO2. The development of eutrophication-induced hypoxia intensifies coastal acidification, since the CO2 produced during respiration decreases the buffering capacity in any hypoxic bottom water. To assess the combined ecosystem impacts of acidification and hypoxia, we quantified the seasonal variation in pH and oxygen dynamics in the water column of a seasonally stratified coastal basin (Lake Grevelingen, the Netherlands).
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