A McGill - led international research team has now completed the first global study of changes that occurred in a crucial
component of ocean chemistry, the nitrogen cycle, at the end of the last ice age.
As the science develops, it is important for managers to design select examples of coral reef areas in a
variety of ocean chemistry and oceanographic regimes (e.g., high and low pH and aragonite saturation state; areas with high and low variability of these parameters) for inclusion in MPAs.
The researchers» conclusions are based on computer
simulations of ocean chemistry stabilized at atmospheric CO2 levels ranging from 280 parts per million (pre-industrial levels) to 2000 ppm.
Studies of ocean chemistry show huge diurnal variations in ph as relative aerobic and anaerobic activity varies from day to night.
Because of ocean chemistry the size of the initial input is important: higher emissions imply that a larger fraction of CO2 will remain in the atmosphere.
Now, a 15 - year, 30 - nation research collective called Geotraces is embarking on an ambitious global
survey of ocean chemistry to quantify trace elements and shed light on how chemical concentrations fluctuate in response to changing environmental conditions.