The source and accumulation of anthropogenic carbon in the U.S. East Coast.

Sci Adv

School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.

Published: August 2024

The ocean has absorbed anthropogenic carbon dioxide (C) from the atmosphere and played an important role in mitigating global warming. However, how much C is accumulated in coastal oceans and where it comes from have rarely been addressed with observational data. Here, we use a high-quality carbonate dataset (1996-2018) in the U.S. East Coast to address these questions. Our work shows that the offshore slope waters have the highest C accumulation changes (ΔC) consistent with water mass age and properties. From offshore to nearshore, ΔC decreases with salinity to near zero in the subsurface, indicating no net increase in the export of C from estuaries and wetlands. Excesses over the conservative mixing baseline also reveal an uptake of C from the atmosphere within the shelf. Our analysis suggests that the continental shelf exports most of its absorbed C from the atmosphere to the open ocean and acts as an essential pathway for global ocean C storage and acidification.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11313966PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl3169DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

anthropogenic carbon
8
east coast
8
source accumulation
4
accumulation anthropogenic
4
carbon east
4
coast ocean
4
ocean absorbed
4
absorbed anthropogenic
4
carbon dioxide
4
dioxide atmosphere
4

Similar Publications

Forests sequester a substantial portion of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Many open questions concern how. We address two of these questions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mitigating anthropogenic climate change with aqueous green energy.

Sci Rep

January 2025

School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada.

Reaching net zero emissions and limiting global warming to 2 °C requires the widespread introduction of technology-based solutions to draw down existing atmospheric levels and future emissions of CO. One such approach is direct air CO capture and storage (DACCS), a readily available, yet energy-intensive process. The combination of DACCS and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) allows for independently powered carbon capture plants to inject concentrated carbon into deep marine sediments where storage is generally safe and permanent.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Here, we present the North American Repository for Archaeological Isotopes (NARIA), the largest open-access compilation of previously reported isotopic measurements (n = 28,374) from bioarchaeological samples in North America (i.e., Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and the United States of America) covering a time-frame of more than 12,000 years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Isotopic variability of the invasive blue crab Callinectes sapidus in the Gulf of Cadiz: Impacts and implications for coastal ecosystem management.

J Environ Manage

January 2025

Department of Ecology and Coastal Management, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía (ICMAN-CSIC), Avda. República Saharaui, 2, Puerto Real, Cadiz, 11510, Spain; Associate Research Unit "Blue Growth", Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) - Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training (IFAPA), Cadiz, Spain. Electronic address:

The variability in trophic position and carbon isotopic signatures can provide information about their dietary flexibility and its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The impact of the invasive blue crab Callinectes sapidus was assessed by estimating its trophic position and isotopic niche using stable isotopes (δ³C, δ⁵N, δ³⁴S) across different invaded Atlantic coastal areas. This study, the first of its kind in the eastern Atlantic range, reveals the crab's omnivorous behavior with a wide trophic position (TP = 2-4), consistent with findings from its native range.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mercury pollution control and Marphysa sanguinea bio-response in active-capped sediment with calcium alginate/activated carbon composite.

J Hazard Mater

January 2025

Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106319, Taiwan; Advanced Research Center for Green Materials Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106319, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Anthropogenic and industrial activities have released large amounts of mercury (Hg) into the hydrosphere. Hg ultimately deposits in sediments and could be re-released into the water environment, threatening the ecological system. Active capping is considered a suitable remediation method due to its relatively low cost and in-situ decontamination feasibility.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!