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Biogeochemical Effects of Rising Atmospheric CO2 on Terrestrial and Ocean SystemsRising carbon dioxide (CO2) has decreased seawater pH at long-term observing stations around the world, including in the open ocean north of Oahu, Hawaii, near Alaska's Aleutian Islands, the Gulf of Maine shore, and on Gray's Reef in the southeastern United States. This ocean acidification process has already affected some marine species and altered fundamental ecosystem processes, and further effects are likely. While atmospheric CO rises at approximately the same rate all over the globe, its non-climate effects on land vary depending on climate and dominant species. In terrestrial ecosystems, rising atmospheric CO concentrations are expected to increase plant photosynthesis, growth, and water-use efficiency, though these effects are reduced when nutrients, drought or other factors limit plant growth. Rising CO would likely change carbon storage and influence terrestrial hydrology and biogeochemical cycling, but concomitant effects on vegetation composition and nutrient feedbacks are challenging to predict, making decadal forecasts uncertain. Consequences of rising atmospheric CO are expected to include difficult-to-predict changes in the ecosystem services that terrestrial and ocean systems provide to humans. For instance, ocean acidification resulting from rising CO has decreased the supply of larvae that sustains commercial shellfish production in the northwestern United States. In addition, CO fertilization (increases) plus warming (decreases) are changing terrestrial crop yields. Continued persistence of uptake of carbon by the land and ocean is uncertain. Climate and environmental change create complex feedbacks to the carbon cycle and it is not clear how feedbacks modulate future effects of rising CO on carbon sinks. These are several mechanisms that could reduce future sink capacity.
Document ID
20190032073
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Moore, David J. P.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Cooley, Sarah R.
(Ocean Conservancy Washington, DC, United States)
Alin, Simone R.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Washington, DC, United States)
Butman, David E.
(Yale Univ. New Haven, CT, United States)
Clow, David W.
(United States Geological Survey (USGS) Reston, VA, United States)
French, Nancy H. F.
(Michigan Technological Univ. Calmet, MI, United States)
Feely, Richard A.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Washington, DC, United States)
Johnson, Zackary
(Duke Univ. Beaufort, NC, United States)
Keppel-Aleks, Gretchen
(Michigan Univ. (HQ) Ann Arbor, MI, United States)
Lohrenz, Steven E.
(Massachusetts Univ. North Dartmouth, MA, United States)
Ocko, Ilissa
(Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. New York, NY, United States)
Shadwick, Elizabeth H.
(Virginia Inst. of Marine Science Gloucester Point, VA, United States)
Sutton, Adrienne J.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Washington, DC, United States)
Potter, Christopher S.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Takatsuka, Yuki
(Florida State Univ. System Gainesville, FL, United States)
Yu, Rita
(Washington Univ. Seattle, WA, United States)
Date Acquired
October 15, 2019
Publication Date
December 10, 2018
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
ARC-E-DAA-TN65056
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 2018
Location: Washington, D. C.
Country: United States
Start Date: December 10, 2018
End Date: December 14, 2018
Sponsors: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX12AD05A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Technical Review
NASA Peer Committee
Keywords
Biogeochemical
Effects
Terrestrial
Systems
CO2
Atmospheric
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