U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 2010–1227

Monitoring and Assessment of Ocean Acidification 

in the Arctic Ocean: A Scoping Paper
Cover.  Polar bear in the Beaufort Sea, August 9, 2010. (Photograph taken by Bill Schmoker. Used with permission.)
Monitoring and Assessment of Ocean Acidification 

in the Arctic Ocean: A Scoping Paper

By Lisa L. Robbins, Kimberly K. Yates, Richard Feely, and Victoria J. Fabry

Open-File Report 2010–1227

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

KEN SALAZAR, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Marcia K. McNutt, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2010

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Suggested citation:

Robbins, L.L., Yates, K.K., Feely, Richard, and Fabry, V.J., 2010, Monitoring and assessment of ocean acidification in 

the Arctic Ocean—A scoping paper: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010–1227, 4 p.
iii

Contents

Introduction: Ocean Acidification and the Arctic Ocean........................................................................1

Ocean Acidification..............................................................................................................................1

Arctic Ocean..........................................................................................................................................1

Timing and Synergies....................................................................................................................................3

What Important Information Needs Have Been Identified?...................................................................4

Suggested Reading........................................................................................................................................4

Figures

1. International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean.............................................................2

2. International programs involved in Arctic research...............................................................3

Introduction: Ocean Acidification and 

the Arctic Ocean 

Ocean Acidification

Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is absorbed at 

the ocean surface by reacting with seawater to form a weak, 

naturally occurring acid called carbonic acid. As atmospheric 

carbon dioxide increases, the concentration of carbonic acid 

in seawater also increases, causing a decrease in ocean pH 

and carbonate mineral saturation states, a process known as 

ocean acidification. The oceans have absorbed approximately 

525 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or 

about one-quarter to one-third of the anthropogenic carbon 

emissions released since the beginning of the Industrial 

Revolution. Global surveys of ocean chemistry have revealed 

that seawater pH has decreased by about 0.1 units (from a 

pH of 8.2 to 8.1) since the 1700s due to absorption of carbon 

dioxide (Raven and others, 2005). Modeling studies, based 

on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) CO2

emission scenarios, predict that atmospheric carbon dioxide 

levels could reach more than 500 parts per million (ppm) by 

the middle of this century and 800 ppm by the year 2100, 

causing an additional decrease in surface water pH of 0.3 pH 

units. Ocean acidification is a global threat and is already having profound and deleterious effects on the geology, biology, 

chemistry, and socioeconomic resources of coastal and marine 

habitats. The polar and sub-polar seas have been identified as 

the bellwethers for global ocean acidification.

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean covers an area of 14,056,000 square 

kilometers (km2) (fig. 1), has a fairly constant temperature 

of 32 degrees Fahrenheit (°F), and supports some of the 

most productive marine areas in the world. Its cold waters 

absorb carbon dioxide more rapidly than it is absorbed by 

warmer seawater. Increasing temperature (1.8 °F, over the 

past 150 years) has increased melting of Arctic ice. Up until 

recently, the perennial ice cover has prohibited significant 

equilibration with the atmosphere, creating a polar mixed 

layer that has lower partial pressure of CO2 levels than those 

found in the atmosphere. Over the last three decades, retreat 

of summertime sea ice cover has exposed shelf waters to the 

atmosphere and has allowed additional absorption of atmospheric CO2

. The combination of these processes accelerates 

the rate at which pH and carbonate mineral saturation state 

decrease. Models have projected that the entire Arctic Ocean 

will become undersaturated with respect to carbonate minerals 

in the next decade. However, some recent field results indicate 

that parts of the Arctic Ocean may already be undersaturated 

in the late summer months, when ice melt is at its largest 

extent. The uncertainty of the models is based on lack of data. 

A systematic approach to measuring the chemistry of the 

Arctic Ocean has not been attempted, and baselines to gage 

future change have not been established. 

Decreased pH and mineral saturation state impair the 

ability of many fish and shellfish to grow and will affect many 

parts of the food chain, from primary producers to higher 

trophic organisms. High-latitude marine organisms often 

exhibit low metabolic rates and very slow development and 

growth rates when compared with similar taxa at mid- or 

low latitudes. Because of their prolonged life histories, fewer 

generations will have opportunities for successful acclimation 

or adaptation to seawater that will become progressively 

elevated in dissolved CO2

. Although many physiological 

processes in diverse organisms may be affected by rising 

ocean acidity, the declining carbonate mineral saturation states 

of aragonite and calcite in surface waters, and establishment of 

corrosive conditions in some regions may particularly impact 

high-latitude planktonic and benthic calcifiers. Because of 

these factors, marine food supplies could be reduced with 

significant implications for food production and security for 

indigenous populations that are dependent on fish protein. 

Due to the immediacy of the ocean acidification threat in the 

Arctic and limited observations to support model results that 

demonstrate significant change in the polar oceans, ocean 

Monitoring and Assessment of Ocean Acidification 

in the Arctic Ocean: A Scoping Paper 

By Lisa L. Robbins, 1 Kim K. Yates, 1 Richard Feely, 2 and Victoria J. Fabry 3

1

 U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL 33705.

2

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA 98115.

3 California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, CA 92096.
2 Monitoring and Assessment of Ocean Acidification in the Arctic Ocean: A Scoping Paper

Figure 1. International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (Jakobsson and others, 2008).

acidification has emerged as a top priority within the United 

States and international organizations, including:

• Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Program (OCB)

• Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem 

Research Project (IMBER)

• Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR)

• UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic 

Commission (IOC)

• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Marine 

Environment Laboratories

• Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS)

• International Geosphere-Biosphere Program 

[IGBP; for example, the Past Global Changes 

(PAGES) Project]

• Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL)
Timing and Synergies 3

Timing and Synergies

Evidence for accelerated ocean acidification in the Arctic 

Ocean and its potentially profound consequences place urgency 

on the development of a circumpolar monitoring and assessment 

effort. This can be achieved through a concerted international 

effort with synergies of the many international organizations 

and programs already working in the Arctic (fig. 2).

Major ocean acidification studies are underway or are in 

advanced stages of planning world wide with a focus on highlatitude environments. The European Commission has funded 

the European Project on OCean Acidification (EPOCA), an 

initiative to investigate “ocean acidification and its consequences” as a multinational effort that includes 29 laboratories 

located in nine European countries. One of EPOCA’s priorities 

is to establish a strong E.U.-U.S. collaboration on ocean 

acidification research in high-latitude regions. In addition, two 

anticipated national programs within E.U. home countries will 

augment EPOCA research: in the U.K., a 5-year program to 

investigate changes in ocean ecosystems in response to ocean 

acidification (funded by the Natural Environment Research 

Council) and, in Germany, a program entitled Biological 

Impacts of Ocean Acidification (BIOACID) (funded by 

Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung, the Federal 

Ministry of Education and Research). Further, Federal 

organizations within the United States (National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, 

National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 

U.S. State Department, Environmental Protection Agency) are 

developing research plans under the authority of the Federal 

Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009. 

Figure 2. International programs involved in Arctic research.

Top row from left to right: Arctic Net, National Science Foundation (NSF) and NSF Arctic Program, International Arctic Systems 

for Observing the Atmosphere (IASOA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Study of Environmental Arctic 

Change (SEARCH), International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC)

Middle row from left to right: European Union Damocles Project, U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 

Arctic Ocean Science Board (AOSB), North Slope Science Initiative, Alaska

Bottom row from left to right: International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), European Science Foundation (ESF), U.S. Arctic 

Research Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NSF Arctic System Science Program (ARCSS)
4 Monitoring and Assessment of Ocean Acidification in the Arctic Ocean: A Scoping Paper

What Important Information Needs 

Have Been Identified?

There are few data to confirm how the Arctic Ocean 

and its marine ecosystems respond to ocean acidification. 

A report by the OCB subcommittee on Ocean Acidification 

(http://www.us-ocb.org/publications/OCB_OA_Whitepaper.

pdf), citing a number of reports from workshops, has outlined 

research gaps and U.S. agencies that are well positioned to 

undertake these studies, including

• seasonal monitoring of open ocean, coastal, and “under 

ice” seawater chemistry, including inorganic and 

organic carbon measurements, other carbonate system 

parameters, and related isotopes, with a high degree of 

spatial and temporal resolution;

• high-quality surveys, mapping, and measurements 

to assess the abundances and depth distributions of 

planktonic and benthic organisms, seafloor habitat and 

bathymetry, and carbonate sediment distribution;

• laboratory and field experiments to examine geological 

and biological response; and

• ecosystem-scale studies.

Among priority locations and key habitats, the OCB 

report considers the high-latitude region of the Arctic as critical 

due to a severe lack of basic data that characterize the region, 

establish baselines for monitoring climate change impacts, and 

validate model results that indicate the extent of Arctic Ocean 

vulnerability. The OCB report suggests that monitoring and 

network observations within this key habitat be established 

within the next 5 years. Expanded time series studies of coastal 

and open ocean seawater chemistry will allow scientists to 

monitor the progress of ocean acidification and to place it in 

the context of other global climate change studies.

Suggested Reading

Andersson, A.J., Mackenzie, F.T., and Bates, N.R., 2008, 

Life on the margin—Implications of ocean acidification on 

Mg-calcite, high latitude, and cold-water marine calcifiers: 

Marine Ecology Progress Series, v. 373, p. 265–273.

Bates, N.R., and Mathis, J.T., 2009, The Arctic Ocean marine 

carbon cycle—Evaluation of air-sea CO2

 exchanges, ocean 

acidification impacts and potential feedbacks: Biogeosciences Discussions, v. 6, p. 6695–6747.

Bates, N.R., Moran, S.B., Hansell, D.A., and Mathis, J.T., 

2006, An increasing CO2

 sink in the Arctic Ocean due to 

sea-ice loss: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 33, L23609, 

7 p., doi:10.1029/2006GL027028.

Comeau, S., Gorsky, G., Jeffree, R., Teyssie, J.-L., and Gattuso, J.-P., 2009, Impact of ocean acidification on a key 

Arctic pelagic mollusc (Limacina helicina): Biogeosciences, 

v. 6, no. 9, p. 1877–1882.

Fabry, V.J., McClintock, J.B., Mathis, J.T., and Grebmeier, 

J.M., 2009, Ocean acidification at high latitudes—The bellwether: Oceanography, v. 22, no. 4, p. 160–171.

Jakobsson, M., Macnab, R., Mayer, L., Anderson, R., 

Edwards, M., Hatzky, J., Schenke, H.-W., and Johnson, P., 2008, An improved bathymetric portrayal of 

the Arctic Ocean—Implications for ocean modeling 

and geological, geophysical and oceanographic analyses: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 35, L07602, 5 p., 

doi:10.1029/2008GL033520.

Mathis, J.T., Bates, N.R., Hansell, D.A., and Babila, Tali, 

2009, Net community production in the northeastern Chukchi Sea: Deep Sea Research II, v. 56, p. 1213–1222.

Olafsson, J., Olafsdottir, S.R., Benoit-Cattin, A., Danielsen, 

M., Arnarson, T.S., and Takahashi, T., 2009, Rate of Iceland 

Sea acidification from time series measurements: Biogeosciences, v. 6, no. 11, p. 2661–2668.

Raven, J., Caldeira, K., Elderfield, H., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., 

Liss, P.S., Reisbell, U., Shepard, J., Turley, C., and Watson, 

A.J., 2005, Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide: London, The Royal Society, Policy 

Document, 60 p. 

Schuster, U., Watson, A.J., Bates, N.R., Corbière, A., 

González-Dávila, M., Metzl, N., Pierrot, D., and SantanaCasiano, M., 2009, Trends in North Atlantic sea-surface 

fCO2

 from 1990 to 2006: Deep-Sea Research, Part II, v. 56, 

p. 620–629.

Steinacher, M., Joos, F., Frölicher, T.L., Plattner, G.-K., and 

Doney, S.C., 2009, Imminent ocean acidification in the Arctic projected with the NCAR global coupled carbon cycleclimate model: Biogeosciences, v. 6, no. 4, p. 515–533.

Steinacher, Marco, Joos, Fortunat, and Frölicher, T.L., 2009, 

Box 5. Modeling ocean acidification in the Arctic Ocean, in

Gattuso, J.-P., Hansson, Lina, and the EPOCA Consortium, 

European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA)—

Objectives, products, and scientific highlights: Oceanography, v. 22, no. 4, p. 198–199.

Takahashi, Taro, Sutherland, S.C., Wanninkhof, Rik, and 

others, 2009, Climatological mean and decadal change in 

surface ocean pCO2, and net sea-air CO2 flux over the global 

oceans: Deep-Sea Research, Part II, v. 56, p. 554–577.

Watson, A.J., Schuster, Ute, Bakker, D.C.E., and others, 2009, 

Tracking the variable North Atlantic sink for atmospheric 

CO2: Science, v. 326, p. 1391–1393.

Yamamoto-Kawai, Michiyo., McLaughlin, F.A., Carmack, 

E.C., Nishino, Shigeto, and Shimada, Koji, 2009, Aragonite undersaturation in the Arctic Ocean—Effects of ocean 

acidification and sea ice melt: Science, v. 326, no. 1098, 

p. 1098–1100.
Robbins and others—Monitoring and Assessment of Ocean Acidification in the Arctic Ocean: A Scoping Paper—Open-File Report 2010–1227