A unique Canadian record of increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere is being measured by Environment Canada in Alert, Nunavut, at the northern tip of Ellesmere Island, about 800 km from the North Pole. The measurements are being taken at the Dr. Neil Trivett Global Atmospheric Watch Station, which is the world's most northerly site in an international network of monitoring stations coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization. The remote location of the site ensures that the measurements indicate changes in the global atmosphere, as there is virtually no contamination from nearby sources of carbon dioxide.
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Measure at Alert, Canada
The graph indicates that carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere has been rising rapidly since 1975. The red line indicates the average upward trend, while the blue line shows annual fluctuations. (Each year carbon dioxide decreases during the summer in Northern Hemisphere, as plant growth absorbs carbon from the atmosphere; and increases during the winter.)
This research confirms global trends in carbon dioxide, and provides better carbon source - sink estimates for North America, particularly for the northern regions. The graph presents daily averaged carbon dioxide mixing ratios in parts per million (ppm) from 1975 to 2008.
The global oceans are the largest natural reservoir for this excess carbon dioxide, absorbing approximately one-third of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere by human activities each year, and over the next millennium, is expected to absorb approximately 90% of the CO2 emitted to the atmosphere. It is now well established that there is a strong possibility that dissolved CO2 in the ocean surface will double over its pre-industrial value by the middle of this century, with accompanying surface ocean acidity (pH) and carbonate ion (CO32-) decreases that are greater than those experienced during the transition from ice ages to warm ages. The uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the ocean changes the chemistry of the oceans and can potentially have significant impacts on the biological systems in the upper oceans. Estimates of future atmospheric and oceanic CO2 concentrations, based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios and general circulation models that include the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients, indicate that by middle of this century atmospheric CO2 levels could be reach over 500 ppm, and near the end of the century they could be over 800 ppm. Corresponding models for the oceans indicate that surface water acidity (pH) drop would be approximately 0.4 pH units, and the carbonate ion concentration would decrease almost 50 % by the end of the century. This surface ocean pH drop would be lower than it has been for more than twenty million years. A pH reduction of approximately 0.1 unit in surface waters has occurred already due to oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2.
Recent field and laboratory studies reveal that the carbonate chemistry of seawater has a profound negative impact on the calcification rates of individual species and communities in both planktonic (floating) and ocean bottom organisms. The calcification rate of nearly all calcium-secreting organisms investigated to date decreased in response to decreased carbonate ion concentration. This response holds across multiple taxonomic groups from single-celled organisms to reef-building corals. In general, when dissolved CO2 was increased to two times pre-industrial levels, a decrease in the calcification rate was observed, ranging from -5 to -50%.This is a real problem, the ocean chemical composition is affected in such magnitude, many species are in risk to decrease in population or even extinct. Is important to acknowledge that the ocean is the environmental system more interrelated, therefore is hard to modify, but if this happening, as it looks like, it can have major consequences on a global scale. That`s why we are in a counter clock rise to solve this issue.
resources:
NOAAS (office of oceanic and athmospheric research) www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Environmetal Canada http://www.ec.gc.ca/sc-cs/default.asp?lang=En&n=0EC06FB9-1#1
