The Geological Record of Ocean Acidification. Ocean Acidification Alters the Photosynthetic Responses of a Coccolithophorid to Fluctuating Ultraviolet and Visible Radiation. © 2013 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved. Peng Jin, Kunshan Gao*, Virginia E. Villafañe, Douglas A. Campbell and E. Walter Helbling + Author Affiliations ↵*Corresponding author; e-mail ksgao@xmu.edu.cn. Plant Physiology August 2013 vol. 162 no. 4 2084-2094 Abstract Mixing of seawater subjects phytoplankton to fluctuations in photosynthetically active radiation (400–700 nm) and ultraviolet radiation (UVR; 280–400 nm). The oceans absorb about 25 million tons of CO2 per day from the atmosphere (Sabine et al., 2004), leading to the acidification of seawater in surface oceans.
Coccolithophores, as a key group of oceanic primary producers, with coccolith scales made of CaCO3, are important to global carbon cycles (Riebesell and Tortell, 2011). In parallel, global warming due to increased atmospheric CO2 concentration causes ocean warming, which results in a decrease in the depth of the upper mixing layer (UML; Sarmiento et al., 2004). Carbonate System Figure 1. Figure 2. 28-2 Mackey et al. 2015, Oceanography 28(2):74–91, Authors | Abstract | Full Article | Supplementary Materials | Citation | References Authors Katherine R.M. Mackey | Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA J. François M.M. Sven A. Top Abstract All phytoplankton and higher plants perform photosynthesis, where carbon dioxide is incorporated into biomass during cell growth.
Full Article 815 KB pdf Supplementary Materials » Supplemental Table S1 (25 KB .csv file) A table of data used for Figure 2—data collected from studies that compared the indicated parameters at modern (~380 ppm) versus elevated (650–1,000 ppm) CO2. » Data and Methods ( The raw data from the literature review, as well as methods used to compile and process those data, are archived at BCO-DMO. Citation Mackey, K.R.M., J.J. References Andersson, A.J., D.I. Anthony, K.R.N., D. Bach, L.T., L.C.M. Bach, L.T., U. Badger, M.R., T.J. Fu, F. Mathematical Modelling of Plankton–Oxygen Dynamics Under the Climate Change. Failing phytoplankton, failing oxygen: Global warming disaster could suffocate life on planet Earth -- ScienceDaily. Falling oxygen levels caused by global warming could be a greater threat to the survival of life on planet Earth than flooding, according to researchers from the University of Leicester.
A study led by Sergei Petrovskii, Professor in Applied Mathematics from the University of Leicester's Department of Mathematics, has shown that an increase in the water temperature of the world's oceans of around six degrees Celsius -- which some scientists predict could occur as soon as 2100 -- could stop oxygen production by phytoplankton by disrupting the process of photosynthesis.
Professor Petrovskii explained: "Global warming has been a focus of attention of science and politics for about two decades now. A lot has been said about its expected disastrous consequences; perhaps the most notorious is the global flooding that may result from melting of Antarctic ice if the warming exceeds a few degrees compared to the pre-industrial level. Large areas of open ocean starved of oxygen - Science - News.
Large regions of the open ocean are being starved of oxygen because of warmer sea temperatures according to studies showing that fish and other marine creatures are moving into narrower habitats to avoid suffocation. Marine researchers said they have discovered growing areas of the ocean that suffer from hypoxia - oxygen depletion - which they believe is the result of warmer sea temperature caused by global warming. Warmer sea temperatures increase stratification, where warm, stagnant bodies of surface water sit on top of cooler water and prevent the normal mixing that results from the vertical circulation currents of the ocean, said Professor Lisa Levin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.
Warmer water also holds less dissolved oxygen than cold water. This means that the stable regions of the deep ocean are also beginning to experience temperature rises that affect concentrations of dissolved oxygen, Professor Levin said. “Those are significant numbers. Multidecadal increase in North Atlantic coccolithophores and the potential role of rising CO2. Climate change may not kill phytoplankton, studies show. Most of the focus at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris is on working toward agreements on how to address climate change, and what a changing planet might mean for humans. Special coverage: Paris Climate Change Conference 2015 But CBC Radio science columnist Torah Kachur has been following the conference and exploring new research about tiny water-dwelling plants called phytoplankton — which are being used to measure the effects of our warming world. What are phytoplankton? Phytoplankton are a large family of microscopic marine algae that perform photosynthesis, just like land-based plants do.
They use energy from the sun and convert it into food for the entire food chain. This makes them the primary producers of biomass in the oceans — pretty much all the edible carbon in the ocean comes from the action of these small creatures. Why are they important for understanding climate change? What does the latest research say about the effect of climate change on phytoplankton?