CC017
Ocean deoxygenation in the past, present and future
Session ID#: 254995
Session Description:
The open ocean, and coastal areas heavily influenced by runoff from land, have been losing oxygen for the past half century, with localised decreases of 50%, driven by warming and enhanced nutrient inputs. While deoxygenation can lead to shifting and shrinking of marine habitats, declines in biodiversity, and alterations in biogeochemical cycles, a full quantitative understanding of the observed oxygen loss is lacking. Model simulations project that dissolved oxygen levels in the global ocean will continue to decline into the future, primarily proportional to CO2 emission scenarios. Coastal eutrophication is expected to continue and worsen due to warming-induced stratification.
Several deoxygenation events have been identified for the oceanâs geological past, some of these linked to extinction events. Better constraining causes, mechanisms and sequences of large-amplitude events may help to better understand the threat of current and likely future ocean deoxygenation.
Contributions are invited investigating present, past and future levels of dissolved oxygen levels, drivers of change, mechanisms of change, feedbacks, and impacts on ecosystems and the Earth system.
Co-Sponsor(s):
- Climate and Ocean Change -
- Coastal and Estuarine Biology and Biogeochemistry -
- Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry -
Index Terms:
1615 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling [GLOBAL CHANGE]
1626 Global climate models [GLOBAL CHANGE]
1635 Oceans [GLOBAL CHANGE]