Ocean acidification

Introduction

Why a book on ocean acidification?

What is ocean acidification?

Machines, fossil fuels and people

Greenhouse effect and CO₂

Some like it hot!

The fate of anthropogenic CO₂

How long have we been talking about ocean acidification?

Just acidity!

How is pH measured?

How are other carbonate chemistry parameters measured?

pH monitoring and the emergence of the term ocean acidification

Scientific awareness

Public awareness

How is ocean acidity evolving?

How far has pH fallen since the Industrial Revolution?

What pH values are expected by 2100?

Has the ocean ever been acidified?

Does the current period have an equivalent in the geological past?

Is ocean acidification a homogeneous phenomenon on the scale of the global ocean?

How do pH and carbonate parameters vary in the ocean?

How does pH vary over time?

How has pH evolved in different regions of the ocean?

How will pH evolve in different regions of the ocean?

What are the biological impacts of acidification?

Physiological impacts of CO₂ enrichment

Animal tolerance to CO₂ enrichment

Impacts of ocean acidification on calcifying organisms

Larval stages, more sensitive than juveniles and adults

Impacts on behaviour

Contrasting responses by species

Photosynthetic organisms, not necessarily winners in a CO₂-enriched environment

How do organisms compensate for the effects of acidification, and at what cost?

Can marine organisms “adapt” to acidification?

What is adaptation?

Acclimatisation versus adaptation

Adaptation is possible, it’s a matter of time!

How can we study the plasticity and adaptation of marine organisms to ocean acidification?

Can we “promote” evolutionary adaptation?

How does ocean acidification affect us?

Notions of ecosystem services

Exploiting marine resources

Will we still have oysters in 2100?

How does acidification interact with other factors in climate change?

Everything’s on the move!

The ocean overheats

Temperature governs species distribution

Courage, let’s run!

Marine heatwaves

I breathe, therefore I am!

How are global warming and ocean deoxygenation linked?

Some effects of oxygen depletion

Acidification, warming and deoxygenation: a deadly trio?

How to take action?

Mitigation versus adaptation

Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions

Greening the ocean

Boosting ocean alkalinity

The limits of knowledge

What’s next?

Reinforcing observation

Expanding the scale of experiments

Assessing and implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies: the job of the century

Protection, conservation and restoration: nature-based, no-regret solutions

Acknowledgments

Acronyms and abbreviations

References