References
Le Quéré, C. et al. Global carbon budget 2014. Earth System Science Data 7, 47–85 (2015)
Fabry, V. J., Seibel, B. A., Feely, R. A. & Orr, J. C. Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 65, 414–432 (2008)
Doney, S. C., Fabry, V. J., Feely, R. A. & Kleypas, J. A. Ocean acidification: the other CO2 problem. Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci . 1, 169–192 (2009)
Andersson, A. J. & Gledhill, D. Ocean acidification and coral reefs: effects on breakdown, dissolution, and net ecosystem calcification. Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci . 5, 321–348 (2013)
Silverman, J., Lazar, B., Cao, L., Caldeira, K. & Erez, J. Coral reefs may start dissolving when atmospheric CO2 doubles. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36, (2009)
Silverman, J. et al. Community calcification in Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef: a 33 year perspective. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 144, 72–81 (2014)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
De’ath, G., Lough, J. M. & Fabricius, K. E. Declining coral calcification on the Great Barrier Reef. Science 323, 116–119 (2009)
Cooper, T. F., De’Ath, G., Fabricius, K. E. & Lough, J. M. Declining coral calcification in massive Porites in two nearshore regions of the northern Great Barrier Reef. Glob. Change Biol. 14, 529–538 (2008)
Manzello, D. P. Coral growth with thermal stress and ocean acidification: lessons from the eastern tropical Pacific. Coral Reefs 29, 749–758 (2010)
Cantin, N. E., Cohen, A. L., Karnauskas, K. B., Tarrant, A. M. & McCorkle, D. C. Ocean warming slows coral growth in the central Red Sea. Science 329, 322–325 (2010)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Tanzil, J. T. et al. Regional decline in growth rates of massive Porites corals in Southeast Asia. Glob. Change Biol. 19, 3011–3023 (2013)
Silverman, J. et al. Carbon turnover rates in the One Tree Island reef: a 40-year perspective. J. Geophys. Res. 117, G03023 (2012)
Cao, L. & Caldeira, K. Atmospheric CO2 stabilization and ocean acidification. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, (2008)
Feely, R. A., Doney, S. C. & Cooley, S. R. Ocean acidification: present conditions and future changes in a high-CO2 world. Oceanography 22, 36–47 (2009)
Chan, N. C. & Connolly, S. R. Sensitivity of coral calcification to ocean acidification: a meta-analysis. Glob. Change Biol. 19, 282–290 (2013)
Langdon, C. & Atkinson, M. Effect of elevated pCO2 on photosynthesis and calcification of corals and interactions with seasonal change in temperature/irradiance and nutrient enrichment. J. Geophys. Res. 110, C09S07 (2005)
Kroeker, K. J., Kordas, R. L., Crim, R. N. & Singh, G. G. Meta-analysis reveals negative yet variable effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms. Ecol. Lett. 13, 1419–1434 (2010)
Cyronak, T., Schulz, K. G. & Jokiel, P. L. The Omega myth: what really drives lower calcification rates in an acidifying ocean. ICES J. Mar. Sci. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsv075 (2015)
Shaw, E. C., Phinn, S. R., Tilbrook, B. & Steven, A. Natural in situ relationships suggest coral reef calcium carbonate production will decline with ocean acidification. Limnol. Oceanogr. 60, 777–788 (2015)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Albright, R., Benthuysen, J., Cantin, N., Caldeira, K. & Anthony, K. Coral reef metabolism and carbon chemistry dynamics of a coral reef flat. Geophys. Res. Lett. 42, 3980–3988 (2015)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Koweek, D. et al. Environmental and ecological controls of coral community metabolism on Palmyra Atoll. Coral Reefs 34, 339–351 (2014)
Shaw, E. C., McNeil, B. I. & Tilbrook, B. Impacts of ocean acidification in naturally variable coral reef flat ecosystems. J. Geophys. Res. 117, C03038 (2012)
Albright, R., Langdon, C. & Anthony, K. R. N. Dynamics of seawater carbonate chemistry, production, and calcification of a coral reef flat, central Great Barrier Reef. Biogeosciences 10, 6747–6758 (2013)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Falter, J. L., Lowe, R. J., Zhang, Z. & McCulloch, M. Physical and biological controls on the carbonate chemistry of coral reef waters: effects of metabolism, wave forcing, sea level, and geomorphology. PLoS ONE 8, e53303 (2013)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Kline, D. I. et al. A short-term in situ CO2 enrichment experiment on Heron Island (GBR). Sci. Rep . 2, 413 (2012)
Helmle, K. P., Dodge, R. E., Swart, P. K., Gledhill, D. K. & Eakin, C. M. Growth rates of Florida corals from 1937 to 1996 and their response to climate change. Nature Commun. 2, 215 (2011)
Tierney, J. E. et al. Tropical sea surface temperatures for the past four centuries reconstructed from coral archives. Paleoceanography 30, 226–252 (2015)
Lough, J. M. & Cooper, T. F. New insights from coral growth band studies in an era of rapid environmental change. Earth Sci. Rev. 108, 170–184 (2011)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
National Research Council. Climate Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration (National Academies Press, 2015)
Ricke, K. L., Orr, J. C., Schneider, K. & Caldeira, K. Risks to coral reefs from ocean carbonate chemistry changes in recent earth system model projections. Environ. Res. Lett. 8, 034003 (2013)
Friedlander, S. K., Turner, J. R. & Hering, S. V. A new method for estimating dry deposition velocities for atmospheric aerosols. J. Aerosol Sci. 17, 240–244 (1986)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Andersson, A. J. & Mackenzie, F. T. Revisiting four scientific debates in ocean acidification research. Biogeosciences 9, 893–905 (2012)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Anderson, L. G., Haraldsson, C. & Lindegren, R. Gran linearization of potentiometric Winkler titrations. Mar. Chem. 37, 179–190 (1992)
Kinsey, D. Alkalinity changes and coral reef calcification. Limnol. Oceanogr. 23, 989–991 (1978)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Riebesell, U., Fabry, V. J., Hansson, L. & Gattuso, J. P. Guide to Best Practices for Ocean Acidification Research and Data Reporting (Publications Office of the European Union, 2010)
Lewis, E. & Wallace, D. W. R. Program developed for CO2 system calculations (US Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1998)
Mehrbach, C., Culberson, C. H., Hawley, J. E. & Pytkowicz, R. M. Measurement of the apparent dissociation constants of carbonic acid in seawater at atmospheric pressure. Limnol. Oceanogr. 18, 897–907 (1973)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Dickson, A. G. & Millero, F. J. A comparison of the equilibrium constants for the dissociation of carbonic acid in seawater media. Deep-Sea Res . 34, 1733–1743 (1987)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Dickson, A. G. Thermodynamics of the dissociation of boric acid in synthetic seawater from 273.15 to 318.15 K. Deep-Sea Res . 37, 755–766 (1990)
Article CAS ADS Google Scholar
Wilson, J. F. in Techniques for Water Resources Investigations of the U.S. Geological Survey, Book 3, Ch. A12 (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1968)
Dickson, A. G., Sabine, C. L. & Christian, J. R. Guide to Best Practices for Ocean CO2 Measurements (North Pacific Marine Science Organization, 2007)
Holmes, R. M., Aminot, A., Kerouel, R., Hooker, B. A. & Peterson, B. J. A simple and precise method for measuring ammonium in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 56, 1801–1808 (1999)
Grasshoff, K., Kremling, K. & Ehrhardt, M. (eds) Methods of Seawater Analysis (Wiley-VCH, 1999)
Acknowledgements
We thank R. Dunbar for the use of his laboratory and D. Mucciarone for laboratory training and assistance; the Australian Institute of Marine Science for scientific and technical support; Y. Estrada for graphics assistance; and the following people for their support in the field and/or laboratory: M. Byrne, A. Chai, R. Graham, T. Hill, D. Kline, B. Kravitz, J. Reiffel, D. Ross, E. Shaw, and the staff of the One Tree Island Research Station. Expedition and staff support was provided by the Carnegie Institution for Science. Some additional support for staff, but not expedition expenses, was provided by the Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research. This work was permitted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority under permit G14/36863.1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, 94305, California, USA
Rebecca Albright,Lilian Caldeira,Lester Kwiatkowski,Jana K. Maclaren,Yana Nebuchina,Julia Pongratz,Katharine L. Ricke,Kenneth Schneider,Marine Sesboüé,Kai Zhu&Ken Caldeira
Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, Davis, Bodega Bay, California, 94923, USA
Jessica Hosfelt&Aaron Ninokawa
Stanford Nano Shared Facilities, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, California, USA
Jana K. Maclaren
Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, 94305, California, USA
Benjamin M. Mason
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Bundesstraße 53, Hamburg, 20146, Germany
Julia Pongratz
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, 14853, New York, USA
Katharine L. Ricke
The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, The H. Steinitz Marine Biology Laboratory, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Eilat, Israel
Tanya Rivlin
The Fredy and Nadine Herrman Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Jerusalem, Israel
Tanya Rivlin
Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
Kenneth Schneider
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, 02543, Massachusetts, USA
Kathryn Shamberger
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, 77843, USA
Kathryn Shamberger
Institute for Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel
Jacob Silverman
School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006, New South Wales, Australia
Kennedy Wolfe
Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, California, USA
Kai Zhu
Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, 77005, Texas, USA
Kai Zhu
Authors
- Rebecca Albright
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Lilian Caldeira
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Jessica Hosfelt
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Lester Kwiatkowski
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Jana K. Maclaren
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Benjamin M. Mason
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Yana Nebuchina
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Aaron Ninokawa
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Julia Pongratz
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Katharine L. Ricke
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Tanya Rivlin
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Kenneth Schneider
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Marine Sesboüé
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Kathryn Shamberger
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Jacob Silverman
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Kennedy Wolfe
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Kai Zhu
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Ken Caldeira
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar
Contributions
R.A., J.K.M., K.Sc., J.S., and K.C. conceived and designed the project. J.K.M., K.Sc., J.S., J.P., K.L.R., and K.Sh. conducted pilot studies and collected preliminary data. R.A., L.K., L.C., B.M.M., Y.N., T.R., M.S., K.W., A.N., J.H., and K.C. performed the experiments. R.A. and K.C. performed the computational analyses. K.Z. assisted with statistical analyses. R.A. wrote the manuscript with input from K.C. All co-authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Correspondence to Rebecca Albright.
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Extended data figures and tables
Extended Data Figure 1 Theoretical representations of the null, H0, and alternative, H1, hypotheses.
a, In H0, the reef does not take up added alkalinity; here, the change in alkalinity between the upstream and downstream transects would not be systematically related to the dye concentration, and the ratio of the alkalinity–dye relationship, r, would not be expected to change between the upstream and downstream locations (that is, rup = rdown). b, In H1, reef uptake of added alkalinity occurs; here, areas with more alkalinity (and more dye) change at a different rate than areas with less alkalinity (and less dye), resulting in a change in the alkalinity–dye slope (that is, rup > rdown).
Extended Data Figure 2 Community composition of the reef flat study area.
Percentage cover by benthic type is as follows: crustose coralline algae (39%), live coral (17%), turf algae (16%), macroalgae (19%), sand/rubble (9%), and Halimeda (5%).
Extended Data Figure 3 Schematic of study area showing meter-spacing of station locations for the 9 upstream (U) stations and 15 downstream (D) transects.
Numbers indicate the metre-spacing from the centre of the study area, denoted as U0 for the upstream transect and D0 for the downstream transect. The outermost sampling locations for the upstream (−U16, U16) and downstream (−D16, D16) transects define the four outermost corners of the study area and were strategically positioned to lie outside the alkalinity–dye plume, rendering zero dye concentrations and added alkalinity.
Extended Data Figure 4 Mean chemical conditions for control (N = 7) and experiment (N = 15) days.
a, b, Carbonate ion concentrations ([CO32−]); c, d, ; e, f, dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations (CT) for upstream and downstream transects. Error bars, which represent standard errors, are indicative of day-to-day and hour-to-hour variability (not measurement error); estimates of measurement error are provided in the Methods. Total alkalinity (AT), dye concentration, aragonite saturation state (Ωarag), and total pH (pHT) are provided in Figs 2 and 3.
Extended Data Figure 5 Comparison of alkalinity values before and after ‘offset-corrections’ used in the multivariate regression analysis.
a, b, Measured (that is, ‘raw’) alkalinity values. c, d, ‘Offset-corrected’ alkalinity values. Bold lines represent average conditions; dashed lines show results by day. See Supplementary Information.
Extended Data Figure 6 Results of the multivariate regression analysis.
a, b, Unique offsets by station, xs, for the upstream and downstream transects. c, d, Magnitude of offsets by day, yd, for upstream and downstream transects. e, f, Alkalinity–dye ratios by day, rd, for upstream and downstream transects. g, h, Mean background alkalinities by day, âd, for upstream and downstream transects. Error bars represent standard errors. See Supplementary Information.
Extended Data Figure 7 Results of the multivariate regression were used to calculate the additional alkalinity uptake (that is, Gincrease) and background alkalinity uptake (that is, Gbackground) by day.
a, Fraction of added alkalinity taken up by the reef by day, given by (1 – (rdown/rup), equation (1) of main text). b, Background reef uptake by day, given by (âd, up − âd, down). Error bars represent standard errors. See Supplementary Information.
Supplementary information
Supplementary Information
This file contains Supplementary Methods, Supplementary Notes, Supplementary Equations | Mathematical explanation (and computer code) of multivariate regression approach used to calculate alkalinity-dye ratios (slopes) and mean background alkalinities (y-intercepts), Supplementary Equations for calculating calcification, the mathematical explanation of mixed effects model and Supplementary Notes regarding underlying hypotheses. (PDF 823 kb)
Supplementary Table 1
This table contains the raw data for chemical and physical parameters across all days and station locations (measured and calculated). Details regarding measurements and associated errors are provided in the Methods. (XLSX 92 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Albright, R., Caldeira, L., Hosfelt, J. et al. Reversal of ocean acidification enhances net coral reef calcification. Nature 531, 362–365 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17155
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17155