Year of Publication
2018

Journal

Nature Communications
Volume
9
Issue
1
Date Published
Jan-12-2018
DOI
10.1038/s41467-018-04922-1
URL
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01839951
HCERES category
ACL - Articles in international or national peer-reviewed journals indexed by HCERES or in international databases
Publication coopération et recherche SUD
Abstract

Increasing atmospheric CO2 from man-made climate change is reducing surface ocean pH. Due to limited instrumental measurements and historical pH records in the world’s oceans, seawater pH variability at the decadal and centennial scale remains largely unknown and requires documentation. Here we present evidence of striking secular trends of decreasing pH since the late nineteenth century with pronounced interannual to decadal–interdecadal pH variability in the South Pacific Ocean from 1689 to 2011 CE. High-amplitude oceanic pH changes, likely related to atmospheric CO2 uptake and seawater dissolved inorganic carbon fluctuations, reveal a coupled relationship to sea surface temperature variations and highlight the marked influence of El Niño/Southern Oscillation and Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation. We suggest changing surface winds strength and zonal advection processes as the main drivers responsible for regional pH variability up to 1881 CE, followed by the prominent role of anthropogenic CO2 in accelerating the process of ocean acidification.

Other Numbers
Lien IRD: fdi:010073199 ; Lien HAL: hal-01839951v1