Ocean acidication in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea - factors controlling pH

Abstract

The CO2 increase in the ocean due to uptake of anthropogenic CO2 and the companying lowering of ocean pH is of major concern. In this study we investigated the variability of CO2 system parameters, focusing particularly on the pH and how it changes with changes in other parameters like: temperature (T), salinity (S), total dissolved inorganic carbon (CT ), and total alkalinity (AT ). For Arabian Sea the data from the United States Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (US{JGOFS) in 1995 were used. For the Red Sea data from the Geochemical Ocean Section Study (GEOSECS) in 1977 and the Mer Rouge (MEROU) cruises in June and October 1982 were used.