Ocean Acidification

Recently reported increasing calcification rates and primary productivity in the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi were obtained by equilibrating seawater with mixtures of carbon dioxide in air. The noted discrepancy with previously reported decreasing calcification is likely due to the previously less realistic simulation of bicarbonate due to addition of acid or base to obtain simulated future CO₂ partial pressure conditions.
Iglesias-Rodriguez M. D., Buitenhuis E. T., Raven J. A., Schofield O., Poulton A. J., Gibbs S., Halloran P., R. & de Baar H. J. W., 2008. Response to Comment on “Phytoplankton Calcification in a High-CO2 World”. Science 322:1466c-1466c. Article (subscription required)