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Volume 28, No. 2
Pages 136 - 145
The Potential for CO2-Induced Acidification in Freshwater: A Great Lakes Case Study
Jennifer C. Phillips , Galen A. McKinley, Val Bennington, Harvey A. Bootsma, Darren J. Pilcher , Robert W. Sterner , Noel R. Urban
Published Online: October 2, 2015
https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2015.37
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@article{article, author = {Jennifer C. Phillips | was at Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA, and is currently at California Ocean Protection Council, Sacramento, CA, USA and Galen A. McKinley | Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA and Val Bennington | Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA and Harvey A. Bootsma | School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA and Darren J. Pilcher | was at Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA, and is now at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA, USA and Robert W. Sterner | Large Lakes Observatory and Professor, Department of Biology University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN, USA and Noel R. Urban | Civil & Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA}, title = {The Potential for CO2-Induced Acidification in Freshwater: A Great Lakes Case Study}, journal = {Oceanography}, year = {2015}, month = {June}, note = {
Ocean acidification will likely result in a drop of 0.3–0.4 pH units in the surface ocean by 2100, assuming anthropogenic CO2 emissions continue at the current rate. Impacts of increasing atmospheric pCO2 on pH in freshwater systems have scarcely been addressed. In this study, the Laurentian Great Lakes are used as a case study for the potential for CO2-induced acidification in freshwater systems as well as for assessment of the ability of current water quality monitoring to detect pH trends. If increasing atmospheric pCO2 is the only forcing, pH will decline in the Laurentian Great Lakes at the same rate and magnitude as the surface ocean through 2100. High-resolution numerical models and one high-resolution time series of data illustrate that the pH of the Great Lakes has significant spatio-temporal variability. Because of this variability, data from existing monitoring systems are insufficient to accurately resolve annual mean trends. Significant measurement uncertainty also impedes the ability to assess trends. To elucidate the effects of increasing atmospheric CO2 in the Great Lakes requires pH monitoring by collecting more accurate measurements with greater spatial and temporal coverage.
}, volume = {28}, url = {https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2015.37}, }
Reference Manager Citation
TY - JOUR AU - Jennifer C. Phillips | was at Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA, and is currently at California Ocean Protection Council, Sacramento, CA, USA and Galen A. McKinley | Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA and Val Bennington | Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA and Harvey A. Bootsma | School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA and Darren J. Pilcher | was at Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA, and is now at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA, USA and Robert W. Sterner | Large Lakes Observatory and Professor, Department of Biology University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN, USA and Noel R. Urban | Civil & Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA PY - 2015 TI - The Potential for CO2-Induced Acidification in Freshwater: A Great Lakes Case Study JO - Oceanography VL - 28 UR - https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2015.37 ER -
Article Abstract
Phillips, J.C., G.A. McKinley, V. Bennington, H.A. Bootsma, D.J. Pilcher, R.W. Sterner, and N.R. Urban. 2015. The potential for CO2-induced acidification in freshwater: A Great Lakes case study. Oceanography 28(2):136–145, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2015.37.
» Supplemental Figure S1 (106 KB)
MITgcm.Superior modeled pH. Monthly range of daily average pH (a) in April 2000 and (b) in August 2000; and daily average pH on the days (c) April 15, 2000 and (d) August 8, 2000. Lake-wide monthly mean in pH is 8.05 in April 2000 to 8.17 in August 2000. In (d) the EPA bi-annual monitoring sites are indicated.
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