The Yellow Sea’s continental shelf faces substantial human pressures, including ocean acidification. However, the inshore waters (typically less than 20 m deep) of the southeastern Yellow Sea have remained understudied with respect to ocean acidification, despite their rich ecosystem services and strong interactions with both land inputs and bottom sediments. The lack of such data and information significantly hinders the assessment of ocean acidification progress and the development of appropriate response strategies. Our research provides the first comprehensive evaluation of ocean acidification in the inshore waters of the southeastern Yellow Sea along South Korea’s west coast, quantifying aragonite saturation state (ΩAR) calculated from dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity. The study combines data from seven seasonal field surveys over two years with a nine-year trend analysis using an artificial neural network algorithm. Our findings reveal that February showed the lowest average ΩAR at 1.6, with some regions dropping below 1. The lowest ΩAR in winter likely results from reduced primary productivity in the Yellow Sea. Since bivalves are known to be harmed even at ΩAR values between 1 and 2, these winter conditions are expected to negatively impact calcifying organisms in the study area. Other seasons (May, August, and November) had ΩAR levels between 2.1 and 2.4. The summer period exhibited the highest variability, influenced by local seasonal riverine input and biological processes. These findings establish a crucial foundation for managing ocean acidification in the inshore waters of the Yellow Sea.
Kim M.-S., Ko Y. H., Park M.-O., Kim S.-G., Shin S.-H., Seok M.-W. & Kim T.-W., 2025. Ocean acidification in the shallow inshore waters of the southeastern Yellow Sea. Regional Studies in Marine Science: 104356. doi: 10.1016/j.rsma.2025.104356. Article.
