Biogeochemical Consequences of Ocean Acidification and Feedbacks to the Earth System

Abstract

The ongoing uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the ocean drives major changes in carbonate chemistry, which will affect and interact with the ocean’s major biogeochemical cycles either through direct effects or indirectly by altering the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems. This chapter presents a review of the current understanding of these impacts and interactions with emphasis on the alteration of element fluxes at the scale of the global ocean. It highlights the contribution of global biogeochemical models in exploring the sensitivity of biogeochemical cycles to ocean acidification and assessing associated feedbacks to the Earth system. When possible, first order evaluations of impacts are presented.