An ICES Workshop on the Significance of Changes in Surface CO2 and Ocean pH in Shelf Sea Ecosystems (WKCpH) - 2-4 May 2007

2 - 4 May 2007, Baden Powell House 

Chairs:

• Liam Fernand    
• Peter Brewer (MBARI)

Rationale for workshop

The ocean is becoming more acidic as increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) is absorbed at the surface. It is thought that the pH of the global ocean has fallen by about 0.1 units over the past 200 years and that it could drop by a further 0.5 units by the year 2100 if CO₂ emissions are not regulated (Royal Soc, 2005;). A recent study of potential change in the North Sea suggests that pH change this century may exceed its natural variability in most of the North Sea. Impacts of acidity change are likely but their exact nature remains largely unknown and may occur across the range of ecosystem processes.  This aspect of climate change is potentially a precursor to the longer-term thermal effects.

This workshop will concentrate on shelf sea environments as most previous  work has concentrated on open ocean systems.

Topics covered

The workshop focused on the shelf seas of Europe and North America

1. review the current state of knowledge and identify future research directions specifically relating to the spatial and temporal variability of the surface ocean pH and CO₂ - carbonate system in the shelf seas;
2. predict the rates of change and to understand how these can be measured;
3. examine the effects of pH and the CO₂-carbonate system on nutrient chemistry that are important in ecosystem processes relevant to shelf seas;
4. examine the effects of pH and the CO₂-carbonate system on contaminants in the shelf seas environments;
5. explore links between potential changes in pH and its effects on marine ecosystem components such as plankton, fish and shellfish and cold water corals