Carbon biogeochemistry of the eastern Bering Sea shelf

Abstract

The uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) has caused perturbations to marine biogeochemistry in recent years, including decreasing ocean pH and carbonate mineral saturation states (Ω). Collectively termed ocean acidification (OA), these conditions hinder the growth of calcium carbonate shells and effectively reduce habitat for some marine calcifiers. Given that the Bering Sea is one of the world's most productive marine ecosystems and supports both commercial fishing industries and subsistence communities, it is integral to understand its susceptibility to OA. Here, new observations of the organic and inorganic carbon systems are used to identify mechanisms leading to CO₂ accumulation and sub-regional enhancement of vulnerability to OA processes. Chapter 1 describes the state of knowledge of OA in this area, highlighting two regions where low Ω conditions are consistently observed: near the coast, and over the northern shelf. Chapter 2 describes net heterotrophic processes near the coast, in conjunction with low bottom water Ω. Chapter 3 examines this heterotrophy in more detail, showing that focused deposition of organic matter and its subsequent respiration. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on very low Ω values observed over the northern shelf. In combination with natural respiration processes, anthropogenic CO₂ was shown to cause low Ω and seasonal dissolution of carbonate minerals in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 illustrates how sea ice cover inhibits the flux of CO₂ from the surface ocean to the atmosphere, which raises the inventory of CO₂ in the water column. These results are synthesized in Chapter 6. Low-Ω conditions and areas of carbonate mineral dissolution will continue to expand as anthropogenic CO₂ accumulates in shelf waters in the coming decades, further reducing viable habitat for key calcifiers. Model projections of future surface water conditions indicate that average Ω over the Bering Sea shelf will drop below the observed natural variability by 2100, with average conditions favoring carbonate mineral dissolution in surface waters by 2150. Presently, episodic events will cause regions of the Bering Sea to be undersaturated in Ω, which could have significant and cascading impacts throughout the Pacific-Arctic region.