The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean Acidification
Abstract We demonstrate that the global cooling resulting from a range of nuclear conflict scenarios would temporarily increase the pH in the surface ocean by up to 0.06 units over a 5‐year period, briefly alleviating the decline in pH associated with ocean acidification. Conversely, the global cool...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2020-02-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL086246 |
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| author | Nicole S. Lovenduski Cheryl S. Harrison Holly Olivarez Charles G. Bardeen Owen B. Toon Joshua Coupe Alan Robock Tyler Rohr Samantha Stevenson |
| author_facet | Nicole S. Lovenduski Cheryl S. Harrison Holly Olivarez Charles G. Bardeen Owen B. Toon Joshua Coupe Alan Robock Tyler Rohr Samantha Stevenson |
| author_sort | Nicole S. Lovenduski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract We demonstrate that the global cooling resulting from a range of nuclear conflict scenarios would temporarily increase the pH in the surface ocean by up to 0.06 units over a 5‐year period, briefly alleviating the decline in pH associated with ocean acidification. Conversely, the global cooling dissolves atmospheric carbon into the upper ocean, driving a 0.1 to 0.3 unit decrease in the aragonite saturation state ( Ωarag) that persists for ∼10 years. The peak anomaly in pH occurs 2 years post conflict, while the Ωarag anomaly peaks 4‐ to 5‐years post conflict. The decrease in Ωarag would exacerbate a primary threat of ocean acidification: the inability of marine calcifying organisms to maintain their shells/skeletons in a corrosive environment. Our results are based on sensitivity simulations conducted with a state‐of‐the‐art Earth system model integrated under various black carbon (soot) external forcings. Our findings suggest that regional nuclear conflict may have ramifications for global ocean acidification. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c3c5e4eb6bb74a8abbdbc24dcbe4d30f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-c3c5e4eb6bb74a8abbdbc24dcbe4d30f2025-08-20T02:31:27ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072020-02-01473n/an/a10.1029/2019GL086246The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean AcidificationNicole S. Lovenduski0Cheryl S. Harrison1Holly Olivarez2Charles G. Bardeen3Owen B. Toon4Joshua Coupe5Alan Robock6Tyler Rohr7Samantha Stevenson8Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Colorado Boulder CO USAInstitute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado Boulder CO USAInstitute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado Boulder CO USAAtmospheric Chemistry Observations and Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder CO USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Colorado Boulder CO USADepartment of Environmental Sciences Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ USADepartment of Environmental Sciences Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ USAWater Power Technologies Office, Department of Energy Washington DC USABren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California Santa Barbara CA USAAbstract We demonstrate that the global cooling resulting from a range of nuclear conflict scenarios would temporarily increase the pH in the surface ocean by up to 0.06 units over a 5‐year period, briefly alleviating the decline in pH associated with ocean acidification. Conversely, the global cooling dissolves atmospheric carbon into the upper ocean, driving a 0.1 to 0.3 unit decrease in the aragonite saturation state ( Ωarag) that persists for ∼10 years. The peak anomaly in pH occurs 2 years post conflict, while the Ωarag anomaly peaks 4‐ to 5‐years post conflict. The decrease in Ωarag would exacerbate a primary threat of ocean acidification: the inability of marine calcifying organisms to maintain their shells/skeletons in a corrosive environment. Our results are based on sensitivity simulations conducted with a state‐of‐the‐art Earth system model integrated under various black carbon (soot) external forcings. Our findings suggest that regional nuclear conflict may have ramifications for global ocean acidification.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL086246 |
| spellingShingle | Nicole S. Lovenduski Cheryl S. Harrison Holly Olivarez Charles G. Bardeen Owen B. Toon Joshua Coupe Alan Robock Tyler Rohr Samantha Stevenson The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean Acidification Geophysical Research Letters |
| title | The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean Acidification |
| title_full | The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean Acidification |
| title_fullStr | The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean Acidification |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean Acidification |
| title_short | The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean Acidification |
| title_sort | potential impact of nuclear conflict on ocean acidification |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL086246 |
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