Delayed onset of ocean acidification in the Gulf of Maine.

The Gulf of Maine holds significant ecological and economic value for fisheries and communities in north-eastern North America. However, there is apprehension regarding its vulnerability to the effects of increasing atmospheric CO. Substantial recent warming and the inflow of low alkalinity waters into the Gulf of Maine have raised concerns about the impact of ocean acidification on resident marine calcifiers (e.

Understanding growth and age of red tree corals (Primnoa pacifica) in the North Pacific Ocean.

Massive, long-lived deep-sea red tree corals (Primnoa pacifica) form a solid, layered axis comprised of calcite and gorgonin skeleton. They are abundant on the outer continental shelf and upper slope of the Northeast Pacific, providing habitat for fish and invertebrates. Yet, their large size and arborescent morphology makes them susceptible to disturbance from fishing activities.

The geological record of ocean acidification.

Ocean acidification may have severe consequences for marine ecosystems; however, assessing its future impact is difficult because laboratory experiments and field observations are limited by their reduced ecologic complexity and sample period, respectively. In contrast, the geological record contains long-term evidence for a variety of global environmental perturbations, including ocean acidification plus their associated biotic responses. We review events exhibiting evidence for elevated atmospheric CO(2), global warming, and ocean acidification over the past ~300 million years of Earth's history, some with contemporaneous extinction or evolutionary turnover among marine calcifiers.