Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Keeling
et al
. [KEE 08]. The silicate concentration is calculated using
data from Garcia
et al
. [GAR 06] between 0 and 10 m in depth and by
weighing the means over the surface of each geographical cell. The pH
is expressed on the total scale.
5.1.2.
A brief history of research on the acidification of oceans
The succinct chronology of the research on the acidification of
oceans by Gattuso and Hansson [GAT 11a] is summarized below.
The first studies on the pH of seawater, its spatial and vertical
variation, as well as its biological consequences date back to the
beginning of the 20th Century. Some of them were carried out even
before the publication of the definition of pH [SOR 09]. The first
studies on the biological impact of lower pH were also published
around that time. For example, Moore
et al.
[MOO 06] studied the
effect of acids and bases on cell growth and division of sea urchin
eggs.
Some of these early studies were surprisingly advanced.
McClendon [MCC 18] showed that algae tolerate a relatively large
range of pH, which can vary depending on species and their life stage,
and that there can be an interaction with other environmental factors.
Gail [GAI 19] took interest in the combined effects of pH and
temperature on the survival, reproduction and growth of a macroalgae
(Fucus) and attempted to evaluate its potential for acclimation.
Powers [POW 20] suggested that the biological diversity of the
Puget Sound region (west coast of the United States), as well as the
average size of species such as cirripedes, is dependent on the pH.
Two years later, he suggested that the “ability of fish to absorb
dissolved oxygen depends on the concentration in hydrogen ions”
[POW 22]. Bouxin [BOU 26] observed that the larval development of
a species of sea urchin was not affected by pH changes in the range of
7.3-8.1, and was slower for pH values below 7.3 and inexistent at a
pH of 6.4. Prytherch [PRY 29] showed that the pH at Milford Harbor
(Connecticut, United States) varies according to the tide (7.2 at low
tide as opposed to 8.2 at high tide). He observed that the failure of the
