Acid test: giant experiments in the Arctic
29th June 2010
A
team of scientists from PML have travelled to the Arctic, to join
researchers from the European Project on Ocean Acidification
(EPOCA), to carry out the first major experiments to determine the
consequences of increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) on
natural biological systems of the polar seas. CO2
emissions not only contribute to climate change but also cause
another, less known but equally disconcerting environmental issue;
ocean acidification.
The oceans currently absorb approximately half of the
CO2 produced by burning fossil fuel, substantially
reducing the rate of build up of this greenhouse gas in the
atmosphere and helping alleviate climate change.
However, there is a cost; when CO2 dissolves in
seawater it forms carbonic acid and as more CO2 is
taken up by the oceans surface, the pH decreases, moving towards a
less alkaline, more acidic state.
The
PML team are studying the effect ocean acidification has on the
important, climate-regulating trace gases that are produced by
Arctic plankton communities. They will also investigate the effects
on microorganisms, such as bacteria, and smaller biological
entities, such as viruses, which play a key role in the complex
mosaic of ocean life.
Up to now most studies have been carried out in laboratories or
have been small scale. To study the issue within the natural marine
environment, the Leibniz Institute
of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) has deployed nine, 17m deep
mesocosms, like giant “test tubes”, in the Kongsfjord, off the
north-west coast of Spitsbergen (Svalbard). The enclosed plankton
community is exposed to a range of CO2 levels that are
expected to develop in the next 150 years. Scientists suspect that
ocean acidification will have serious implications for the marine
environment, especially in colder waters near the Poles, and so the
overall goal is to fill numerous gaps the understanding of ocean
acidification and its consequences for marine organisms, ecosystems
and out climate.
The investigation will be complete in two
weeks and its progress can be found at the Svalbard
2010 blog. Following the scientific studies, the team’s latest
post describes their long-anticipated rest day, beginning with a
scramble across the defrosting Arctic tundra and followed by a trip
to Svalbard’s largest glacier:
“The
boat ride to the glacier front was a bit of an iceberg-dodging
exercise, as the fjord is scattered with beautiful, sculptural
bergs at this time of year”, explains PML scientist Frances
Hopkins. “When we were within about 1km of the glacier, a huge
townhouse-size chunk of glacier spectacularly crashed into the
fjord, sending a boom echoing around the mountains, followed
moments later by some subtle but noticeable tsunami waves. A
perfect way to spend a Sunday evening.”