Decrease in volume and density of foraminiferal shells with progressing ocean acidification.

Rapid increases in anthropogenic atmospheric CO2 partial pressure have led to a decrease in the pH of seawater. Calcifying organisms generally respond negatively to ocean acidification. Foraminifera are one of the major carbonate producers in the ocean; however, whether calcification reduction by ocean acidification affects either foraminiferal shell volume or density, or both, has yet to be investigated. In this study, we cultured asexually reproducing specimens of Amphisorus kudakajimensis, a dinoflagellate endosymbiont-bearing large benthic foraminifera (LBF), under different pH conditions (pH 7.7-8.3, NBS scale). The results suggest that changes in seawater pH would affect not only the quantity (i.e., shell volume) but also the quality (i.e., shell density) of foraminiferal calcification. We proposed that pH and temperature affect these growth parameters differently because (1) they have differences in the contribution to the calcification process (e.g., Ca2+-ATPase and Ω) and (2) pH mainly affects calcification and temperature mainly affects photosynthesis. Our findings also suggest that, under the IPCC RCP8.5 scenario, both ocean acidification and warming will have a significant impact on reef foraminiferal carbonate production by the end of this century, even in the tropics.

Prevailing oxic environments in the Pacific Ocean during the mid-Cretaceous Oceanic anoxic event 2.

The occurrence of Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2) 94 million years ago is considered to be one of the largest carbon cycle perturbations in the Earth's history. The marked increase in the spatial extent of the anoxic conditions in the world's oceans associated with OAE2 resulted in the mass accumulation of organic-rich sediments. Although extensive oceanographic studies of OAE2 have been undertaken in the Atlantic Ocean, the Tethys Sea, and the epicontinental seas of Europe and America, little is known about OAE2 in the Pacific Ocean. Here, we present high-resolution carbon-isotope and degree of pyritization (DOP) data from marine sequences that formed along the continental margins of North America and Asia below the northeastern and northwestern Pacific Ocean. The predominance of low DOP values in these areas revealed that the continental margins of the Pacific Ocean were oxic for most of the OAE2 interval.