Project overview
Surface ocean pH has been maintained between 8.0 and 8.3 pH units for the last 25 million years. However, the current rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is so great that the oceans are predicted to experience unprecedented changes in seawater pH and carbonate chemistry. Ocean acidification will affect ecosystems and processes at all levels of organisation: from molecules to communities, demanding an evaluation of impacts at all levels of organisation.
The ultimate aim of our consortium was to predict the impact of acidification and warming on the biodiversity and function of 3 key UK habitats. To achieve this, this project – led by Plymouth marine Laboratory, assembled a consortium of 25 researchers, from 12 organisations, who encompass a broad range of skills and knowledge and have recognised expertise in high CO2 research and/or studying benthic systems. We employed laboratory experiments, field observations, numerical models and interdisciplinary workshops to achieve our goal. Our long-term experiments identified that many coastal species could withstand extremes of temperature and high carbon dioxide, but that they faced significant metabolic trade-offs and impacts to performance as a result.
The ultimate aim of our consortium was to predict the impact of acidification and warming on the biodiversity and function of 3 key UK habitats. To achieve this, this project – led by Plymouth marine Laboratory, assembled a consortium of 25 researchers, from 12 organisations, who encompass a broad range of skills and knowledge and have recognised expertise in high CO2 research and/or studying benthic systems. We employed laboratory experiments, field observations, numerical models and interdisciplinary workshops to achieve our goal. Our long-term experiments identified that many coastal species could withstand extremes of temperature and high carbon dioxide, but that they faced significant metabolic trade-offs and impacts to performance as a result.
