The Geological Record of Ocean Acidification

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 335; no. 6072; pp. 1058 - 1063
• Main Authors: Hönisch, Bärbel, Ridgwell, Andy, Schmidt, Daniela N., Thomas, Ellen, Gibbs, Samantha J., Sluijs, Appy, Zeebe, Richard, Kump, Lee, Martindale, Rowan C., Greene, Sarah E., Kiessling, Wolfgang, Ries, Justin, Zachos, James C., Royer, Dana L., Barker, Stephen, Marchitto, Thomas M., Moyer, Ryan, Pelejero, Carles, Ziveri, Patrizia, Foster, Gavin L., Williams, Branwen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 02.03.2012; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Acidification; Acidity; Adaptation, Biological; Animals; Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic Organisms; Atmosphere; Atmospherics; Carbon Dioxide; carbon dioxide enrichment; Carbonates; Carbonates - analysis; Chemical oceanography; Climate change; Deglaciation; Earth; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Ecosystem; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Environmental impact; Exact sciences and technology; extinction; Extinction, Biological; Forecasting; Fossils; Geochemistry; Geological history; Geological Phenomena; Geological time; Geology; Global warming; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; laboratory experimentation; Laboratory Experiments; Marine ecosystems; Marine geology; Mass extinctions; Ocean acidification; Oceans; Oceans and Seas; Organic Chemistry; Pollution, environment geology; Proxy reporting; Proxy statements; REVIEW; Sea water; Seawater - chemistry; atmosphere; carbon dioxide; possibilities; climate warming; acidification; evolution; carbonates; greenhouse gas; environment impact; extinction; marine environment; ocean; ecosystems
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1208277

Ocean acidification may have severe consequences for marine ecosystems; however, assessing its future impact is difficult because laboratory experiments and field observations are limited by their reduced ecologie complexity and sample period, respectively. In contrast, the geological record contains long-term evidence for a variety of global environmental perturbations, including ocean acidification plus their associated biotic responses. We review events exhibiting evidence for elevated atmospheric CO₂, global warming, and ocean acidification over the past ~300 million years of Earth's history, some with contemporaneous extinction or evolutionary turnover among marine calcifiers. Although similarities exist, no past event perfectly parallels future projections in terms of disrupting the balance of ocean carbonate chemistry—a consequence of the unprecedented rapidity of CO₂ release currently taking place.