The anthropogenic input of fossil fuel carbon into the atmosphere results in increased carbon dioxide (CO2) into the oceans, a process that lowers seawater pH, decreases alkalinity and can inhibit the production of shell material. Corrosive water has recently been documented in the northeast Pacific, along with a rapid decline in seawater pH over the past decade. A lack of instrumentation prior to the 1990s means that we have no indication whether these carbon cycle changes have precedence or are a response to recent anthropogenic CO2 inputs. We analyzed stable carbon and oxygen isotopes (δ13C, δ18O) of decade-old California mussel shells (Mytilus californianus) in the context of an instrumental seawater record of the same length.
Technology Partners: MimirTech
Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/feature-article/rapid-environmental-change-over-past-decade-revealed-isotopic-analysis-california
[2] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/catherine-pfister
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/sophie-j-mccoy
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/j-timothy-wootton-et-al
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/journal/plos-one
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/oceans-and-seas
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/fossil-fuels
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/carbon-dioxide
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/north-pacific-ocean
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/marine-life
[11] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/california
[12] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/atmosphere
