Does Acidification Affect The number of Diatoms?

Diatoms have an essential role in the ocean as producers of biomass and help in the transport of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere to the deep ocean. Scientists at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel found that experimental data showed that ocean acidification could drastically reduce diatom populations. It is important to build diatom skeletons relying more on the use of silica than calcium carbonate, there are findings about the global impact of acidification.

???In the presence of acidification, diatom shells dissolve more slowly. This is not an advantage but causes sinking into deeper layers of air before time they chemically dissolve and convert back into silica. This causes more nutrient content to be exported to the deep sea and causes a shortage in the surface layer where nutrients are needed for the formation of new shells. According to scientists, this has resulted in a 40% reduction in the number of atoms needed for plant biomass in the ocean and a reduced role for diatoms as the basis of many marine food webs. In addition, there is a decrease in the function of diatoms as the main driver of biological carbon pumps that play a role in transporting CO2 to the sea for long-term storage.

????Biologist, Jan Taucher said it would take a thorough analysis of field experiments and observational data to determine the global impact of acidification. The current understanding is still based on small-scale experiments with certain places and times used. Experiments on this small scale may be inappropriate if the complexity of the earth system is not taken into account. Conducted a meta-analysis by examining data from five mesocosm studies from 2010 to 2014 from various marine areas. Mesocosms is a type of test tube with a large size that can accommodate thousands of liters of seawater. Water drawn in the mesocosms is enriched with carbon dioxide to suit future scenarios with moderate to high atmospheric carbon dioxide increases.

????From this experiment, it was found that the mesocosm can be confirmed using global observational data from the open ocean. The results shown reflect the results of a meta-analysis and it is estimated that there will be a 10% reduction in the number of atoms by the end of the century. Researchers also estimate that there will be up to 26% loss of silica in waters, which will decrease across the oceans by 2200. If this number is estimated at a small amount, climate change will not stop suddenly and global effects will continue. There needs to be decisive, fast action, and attention that the consequences of climate change are very real and have an unpredictable impact.

?

References

?

Taucher, J., Bach, L., Prowe, A., Boxhammer, T., Kvale, K., & Riebesell, U. (2022). Enhanced silica export in a future ocean triggers global diatom decline. Nature, 605(7911), 696-700. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04687-0