The ocean acts as a large sink for anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2), and the continuous oceanic uptake of CO2 has changed the chemical properties of the seawater. Increasing ocean acidification is a particular concern because it reduces the ocean’s capacity for CO2 uptake, which accelerates global atmospheric warming and affects marine ecosystems by disturbing plankton growth. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has reconstructed surface ocean carbonate system parameters including monthly sea surface pH and oceanic CO2 sink after 1990 based on a global oceanographic observation database, SOCAT V5 (Bakker et al, 2016) and GLODAPv2 (Olsen et al, 2016). The results reveal a clear trend of pH decrease in the global ocean, and decadal variability in CO2 sink of weakening in 1990s and strengthening after 2000 (Figs. 2 and 3). The gridded datasets and graphical maps (2dimensional and sphere mapping) of reconstructed values of surface ocean carbonate system parameters and sea-air CO2 flux are distributed via JMA website.
Nakano T. & Iida Y., 2018. Ocean acidification and carbon dioxide uptake in the global ocean. PICES Press 26 (1): 34-36. Article.
