The exposure of the Great Barrier Reef to ocean acidification

Mongin, M; Baird, ME; Tilbrook, B; Matear, RJ; Lenton, A; Herzfeld, M; Wild-Allen, K; Skerratt, J; Margvelashvili, N; Robson, BJ; Duarte, CM; Gustafsson, MSM; Ralph, PJ; Steven, ADL

The exposure of the Great Barrier Reef to ocean acidification

Mongin, M Baird, ME

Tilbrook, B Matear, RJ Lenton, A Herzfeld, M Wild-Allen, K Skerratt, J Margvelashvili, N Robson, BJ Duarte, CM Gustafsson, MSM Ralph, PJ

Steven, ADL

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Nature Communications, 2016, 7
Issue Date:: 2016-02-23

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Mongin, M	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Baird, ME https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4955-2298	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Tilbrook, B	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Matear, RJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lenton, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Herzfeld, M	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Wild-Allen, K	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Skerratt, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Margvelashvili, N	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Robson, BJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Duarte, CM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Gustafsson, MSM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ralph, PJ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3103-7346	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Steven, ADL	en_US
dc.date.available	2016-01-14	en_US
dc.date.issued	2016-02-23	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Nature Communications, 2016, 7	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/117258
dc.description.abstract	© 2016, Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is founded on reef-building corals. Corals build their exoskeleton with aragonite, but ocean acidification is lowering the aragonite saturation state of seawater (Ωa). The downscaling of ocean acidification projections from global to GBR scales requires the set of regional drivers controlling Ωa to be resolved. Here we use a regional coupled circulation-biogeochemical model and observations to estimate the Ωa experienced by the 3,581 reefs of the GBR, and to apportion the contributions of the hydrological cycle, regional hydrodynamics and metabolism on Ωa variability. We find more detail, and a greater range (1.43), than previously compiled coarse maps of Ωa of the region (0.4), or in observations (1.0). Most of the variability in Ωa is due to processes upstream of the reef in question. As a result, future decline in Ωa is likely to be steeper on the GBR than currently projected by the IPCC assessment report.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Nature Communications	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1038/ncomms10732	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Animals	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Anthozoa	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Calcium Carbonate	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Seawater	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Hydrogen-Ion Concentration	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Models, Biological	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Models, Chemical	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Oceans and Seas	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Hydrodynamics	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Coral Reefs	en_US
dc.title	The exposure of the Great Barrier Reef to ocean acidification	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	7	en_US
utslib.for	050101 Ecological Impacts of Climate Change	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - C3 - Climate Change Cluster
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	7	en_US

Abstract:

© 2016, Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is founded on reef-building corals. Corals build their exoskeleton with aragonite, but ocean acidification is lowering the aragonite saturation state of seawater (Ωa). The downscaling of ocean acidification projections from global to GBR scales requires the set of regional drivers controlling Ωa to be resolved. Here we use a regional coupled circulation-biogeochemical model and observations to estimate the Ωa experienced by the 3,581 reefs of the GBR, and to apportion the contributions of the hydrological cycle, regional hydrodynamics and metabolism on Ωa variability. We find more detail, and a greater range (1.43), than previously compiled coarse maps of Ωa of the region (0.4), or in observations (1.0). Most of the variability in Ωa is due to processes upstream of the reef in question. As a result, future decline in Ωa is likely to be steeper on the GBR than currently projected by the IPCC assessment report.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/117258