Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2017

Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E73

Finding the baseline in coastal regions facing ocean acidification: Breiðafjörður case study

Höfundar / Authors: Hrönn Egilsdóttir (1,2), Sólveig Rósa Ólafsdóttir (1), Jón Ólafsson (2), Erla Björk Örnólfsdóttir (3)

Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Hafrannsóknastofnun: rannsókna- og ráðgjafastofnun hafs og vatna. 2. Jarðvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands, 3. Háskólinn á Hólum

Kynnir / Presenter: Hrönn Egilsdóttir

The marine environment is anything but uniform. It exhibits considerable variability over space and time. The lack of comprehensive data on variability in the inorganic carbon system in distinct marine environments limits understanding of the implications of CO2 induced ocean acidification.
In this study we characterize the temporal (seasonal) and spatial environmental variability in a sub-Arctic bay in Iceland, Breiðafjörður. Data on temperature, salinity, nutrients, chlorophyll a and the inorganic carbon system (pCO2 and DIC) was collected on 20 sampling surveys conducted from April 2010 through May 2011. Other parameters of the inorganic carbon system were calculated (i.e. pH, calcium carbonate saturation states (Ω), etc).
We attempt to relate species distributions and life histories to the environmental variability, paying particular attention to taxa (e.g. calcifiers) and life-stages (generally early life-stages) that are considered sensitive to ocean warming and/or ocean acidification. This approach allows for a holistic view of coastal systems. However, this work also highlights important knowledge gaps that limit our understanding of how ocean warming and ocean acidification will affect coastal ecosystems in the future.