Wyatt, Neil J., Kitidis, Vassilis, Woodward, E. Malcolm S, Rees, Andrew P., Widdicombe, Stephen and Lohan, Maeve (2010) Effects of high CO2 on the fixed nitrogen inventory of the Western English Channel. Journal of Plankton Research, 32 (5), 631-641. (doi:10.1093/plankt/fbp140).
Abstract
In this study, we investigated the impact of CO2 induced seawater acidification on the concentration of inorganic nutrients, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, soluble reactive phosphorous (SRP) and silicate at a coastal site in the Western English Channel (WEC). Samples were collected and filtered weekly during the spring to summer transition between 17th March and 21st July 2008. Ambient pH varied by 0.2 units over the study period, while purging with CO2 (380, 500, 760 and 1000 ppmv) resulted in a maximum pH decrease of 0.4 units. Surface nitrate was depleted during the spring phytoplankton bloom and nitrogen limitation was prevalent thereafter. Acidification did not change the concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, SRP or silicate. An average increase in total ammonium of 0.17 μmol L-1 (20) was observed in acidified seawater during the pre-bloom period. We suggest that this increase was not a biological interaction but due to the influx of gaseous ammonia from the atmosphere; CO2 induced acidification shifted the seawater dissolved ammonium-ammonia equilibrium towards the former and thereby decreased the sea-air concentration gradient of ammonia. Using the results from this study, a simple zero-dimensional model for the WEC was constructed which shows that this region will become a net sink for 300 mol m-2 a-1 for NH3 if atmospheric CO2 concentrations increase to 717 ppm. The increase in the total ammonium inventory of the WEC surface waters may increase phytoplankton biomass in the future.
Full text not available from this repository.
More information
Identifiers
Catalogue record
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
University divisions
- Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Engineering and the Environment (pre 2018 reorg) > Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute (pre 2018 reorg)
- Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences (pre 2018 reorg) > Ocean and Earth Science (pre 2018 reorg) > Marine Biogeochemistry (pre 2018 reorg)
Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Ocean and Earth Science > Ocean and Earth Science (pre 2018 reorg) > Marine Biogeochemistry (pre 2018 reorg)
School of Ocean and Earth Science > Ocean and Earth Science (pre 2018 reorg) > Marine Biogeochemistry (pre 2018 reorg)
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.