Spatial variability of summertime aragonite saturation states and its influencing factor in the Bering Sea

The Bering sea is susceptible to ocean acidification driven by both human activities(anthropogenic CO_(2))and distinctive natural processes.To assess the situation of ocean acidification,we investigated the spatial variability of aragonite saturation states(ΩAr)in July 2010 during the 4th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition(CHINARE).The surface waters were all oversaturated with respect to aragonite(ΩAr>1)due to high biological removal,andΩAr ranged from 1.43 to 3.17.The relatively lowΩAr values were found in the western Bering Strait and eastern nearshore region of the Bering Sea Shelf,which were associated with the upwelling and riverine input,respectively.In the subsurface,theΩAr decreased to generally low saturation states and were observed to be strongly undersaturated(ΩAr<1)in the bottom waters with a lowest value of 0.45,which might be caused by remineralization.However,unlike prior studies,the lowΩAr values in the shallow nearshore region were still above the saturation horizon throughout the water column,which were probably counteracted by high local primary production.In the context of climate change and increasing anthropogenic CO_(2)absorption,the suppression and undersaturation ofΩAr in the Bering Sea are not only attributed to the natural processes but also the accumulation of anthropogenic CO_(2).

Processes Controlling the Carbonate Chemistry of Surface Seawater Along the 150°E Transect in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The problem of ocean acidification caused by the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is becoming increasingly prominent.Field observation in the northwest Pacific Ocean was carried out along the 150°E transect in November 2019.The distribution characteristics and influencing factors of the surface seawater carbonate chemistry,including dissolved inorganic carbon(DIC),total alkalinity(TA),pH,partial pressure of carbon dioxide(pCO_(2))and aragonite saturation state(Ω_(arag))were investigated.DIC and TA ranged from 1915 to 2014μmol kg^(−1)and 2243 to 2291μmol kg^(−1),respectively;DIC in general decreased with decreasing latitude,but TA had no clear latitudinal gradient.pCO_(2)values increased with the decrease of latitude and were all below the atmospheric pCO_(2)level,ranging from 332 to 387μatm.pH on the total hydrogen ion concentration scale(pH_(T))decreased with the decrease of latitude in the range of 8.044–8.110,whileΩ_(arag) increased with the decrease of latitude in the range of 2.61–3.88,suggesting that the spatial distributions of pH_(T) andΩ_(arag) were out of phase.Compared with the present,the predicted values of pH_(T) and Ω_(arag) by the end of this century would decrease remarkedly;larger declines were found in the higher pH_(T) and Ω_(arag) regions,resulting in the differences along the meridional gradient becoming smaller for bothpH_(T) and Ω_(arag).