Publication Date:
2024-03-15
Description:
Ocean acidification substantially alters ocean carbon chemistry and hence pH but the effects on sea ice formation and the CO2 concentration in the enclosed brine channels are unknown. Microbial communities inhabiting sea ice ecosystems currently contribute 10-50% of the annual primary production of polar seas, supporting overwintering zooplankton species, especially Antarctic krill, and seeding spring phytoplankton blooms. Ocean acidification is occurring in all surface waters but the strongest effects will be experienced in polar ecosystems with significant effects on all trophic levels. Brine algae collected from McMurdo Sound (Antarctica) sea ice was incubated in situ under various carbonate chemistry conditions. The carbon chemistry was manipulated with acid, bicarbonate and bases to produce a pCO2 and pH range from 238 to 6066 µatm and 7.19 to 8.66, respectively. Elevated pCO2 positively affected the growth rate of the brine algal community, dominated by the unique ice dinoflagellate, Polarella glacialis. Growth rates were significantly reduced when pH dropped below 7.6. However, when the pH was held constant and the pCO2 increased, growth rates of the brine algae increased by more than 20% and showed no decline at pCO2 values more than five times current ambient levels. We suggest that projected increases in seawater pCO2, associated with OA, will not adversely impact brine algal communities.
Keywords:
Alkalinity, total; Alkalinity, total, standard deviation; Antarctic; Aragonite saturation state; Bicarbonate ion; Bottles or small containers/Aquaria (〈20 L); Calcite saturation state; Calculated using CO2SYS; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbon, inorganic, dissolved; Carbon, inorganic, dissolved, standard deviation; Carbonate ion; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Coast and continental shelf; Coulometric titration; Entire community; EXP; Experiment; Field experiment; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Growth/Morphology; Growth rate; Growth rate, standard deviation; Maximum photochemical quantum yield of photosystem II; Maximum photochemical quantum yield of photosystem II, standard deviation; McMurdo_Sound_OA; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Pelagos; pH; Polar; Potentiometric titration; Primary production/Photosynthesis; Salinity; Species; Temperature, water
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 747 data points
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