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Publication . Other literature type . Article . 2012

The carbonate system in the North Sea: Sensitivity and model validation

Yuri Artioli; Jeremy Blackford; Momme Butenschön; Jason Holt; Sarah Wakelin; Helmuth Thomas; Alberto Borges; +1 Authors
Open Access
Published: 01 Oct 2012 Journal: Journal of Marine Systems, volume 102-104, pages 1-13 (issn: 0924-7963, Copyright policy )
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Country: Belgium
Abstract

The ocean plays an important role in regulating the climate, acting as a sink for carbon dioxide, perturbing the carbonate system and resulting in a slow decrease of seawater pH.Understanding the dynamics of the carbonate system in shelf sea regions is necessary to evaluate the impact of Ocean Acidification (OA) in these societally important ecosystems. Complex hydrodynamic and ecosystem coupled models provide a method of capturing the significant heterogeneity of these areas. However rigorous validation is essential to properly assess the reliability of such models. The coupled model POLCOMS–ERSEM has been implemented in the North Western European shelf with a new parameterization for alkalinity explicitly accounting for riverine inputs and the influence of biological processes. The model has been validated in a like with like comparison with North Sea data from the CANOBA dataset. The model shows good to reasonable agreement for the principal variables, physical (temperature and salinity), biogeochemical (nutrients) and carbonate system (dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity), but simulation of the derived variables, pH and pCO2, are not yet fully satisfactory. This high uncertainty is attributed mostly to riverine forcing and primary production. This study suggests that the model is a useful tool to provide information on Ocean Acidification scenarios, but uncertainty on pH and pCO2 needs to be reduced, particularly when impacts of OA on ecosystem functions are included in the model systems.

Subjects by Vocabulary

Microsoft Academic Graph classification: Ocean acidification Alkalinity Temperature salinity diagrams Ecosystem Carbonate chemistry.chemical_compound chemistry Carbon dioxide Oceanography Biogeochemical cycle Seawater

Subjects

Aquatic Science, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Oceanography, Mer du NOrd, Acidification océanique, Life sciences, Aquatic sciences & oceanology, Sciences du vivant, Sciences aquatiques & océanologie

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Funded by
EC| EPOCA
Project
EPOCA
European Project on Ocean Acidification
  • Funder: European Commission (EC)
  • Project Code: 211384
  • Funding stream: FP7 | SP1 | ENV
,
EC| MEECE
Project
MEECE
Marine Ecosystem Evolution in a Changing Environment
  • Funder: European Commission (EC)
  • Project Code: 212085
  • Funding stream: FP7 | SP1 | ENV
Validated by funder
Related to Research communities
European Marine Science Marine Environmental Science : Marine ecosystem evolution in a changing environment
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