Global climate change is exacerbating multiple ocean stressors, including ocean acidification (OA), ocean warming (OW), and deoxygenation (deOxy), which collectively threaten marine ecosystems and fisheries. Understanding how these stressors interact to shape organismal and ecosystem responses is increasingly critical, yet it remains technically challenging and expensive to simulate them concurrently under controlled indoor conditions. To address this limitation, we developed a closed indoor mesocosm system that enables stable and long-term simulation of these three stressors for biological and aquaculture research. The system maintains consistent levels of CO2, temperature, and dissolved oxygen (DO) over multi-month experiments without automated control units, relying instead on robust initial settings. High-purity CO2 and N2 gases are blended with ambient air in controlled ratios to regulate carbonate chemistry and oxygen levels, while chillers and heaters ensure precise temperature control. Validation experiments demonstrated that the system can (1) increase pCO2 to approximately twice the present-day level with a pH reduction of ~ 0.22 units, (2) elevate temperature by + 3 °C above ambient temperature, and (3) reduce DO by up to 40% relative to ambient concentration, reflecting projected climate scenarios. This simple and versatile mesocosm provides a practical platform for investigating the ecophysiological responses of marine organisms under multi-stressor environments, supporting research on climate adaptation and aquaculture resilience.
Lee S., Kang J. W., Choi I. H., Lee J. & Kim J. H., 2026. An indoor mesocosm system for cost-effective simulation of multiple ocean stressors affecting marine organisms. Ocean Science Journal 61: 7. doi: 10.1007/s12601-025-00257-3. Article.
