The sustained ocean carbon sink uptakes ∼37% of the fossil fuel CO2 emissions, or ∼25% of the combined fossil fuel burning and emissions due to land use changes between 1850 and 2019. This uptake of CO2 is causing profound changes in seawater chemistry resulting from increased hydrogen ion concentration (decrease in pH), referred to as ocean acidification. Experimental and modelling studies provide compelling evidence that ocean acidification will put marine ecosystems at risk especially in coastal areas that provide marine resources and important ecosystem services to support human society. The coastal ocean, which is characterized by elevated primary production and is the site for long-term burial of organic matter and calcium carbonate (CaCO3), provides a highly dynamic land-ocean interface complicated by anthropogenic perturbations that act across the land-ocean continuum and evolve over time. Including the coastal ocean as a component of the global carbon cycle is critical for developing carbon and climate policies. And, among these coastal regions, the upwelling systems are especially important by accounting for ~20% of the global fish catch in spite of constituting <1% of the world’s oceans by area. Moreover, the responses of the upwelling systems to climate changes have a strong influence on their biogeochemistry and productivity, with serious socio-economic consequences.
Supervisors
Jesus Dubert (CESAM, University of Aveiro)
Antonio Padin Alvarez y Fiz Fernández Perez (Instituto Investigaciones Marina de Vigo CSIC)
Hosting institution
University of Aveiro (Portugal) in collaboration with instituto Investigaciones Marinas de Vigo (Spain)
Doctoral programme
Do*Mar – Marine Science, Technology and Management, University of Aveiro
Deadline
10 December 2022
Aircentre, 15 October 2022. More information.
