Increasing Glacier Melt Causes Higher Acidification Rates Around Svalbard

Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, October 15

Glacier runoff during the peak of Svalbard’s meltwater season contains lower levels of most nutrients (nitrates, carbonates, organic carbons and phosphates) than in the waters surrounding the polar archipelago.  This nutrient-poor runoff increases the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere in the surrounding ocean, raising acidification and making these waters more corrosive and harmful for shelled organisms.  Colder waters already absorb CO2 more rapidly; and this additional dynamic may further jeopardize the stability of the marine ecosystem in this region, especially should glacier melt accelerate with warmer temperatures.  Svalbard set a high temperature record for November earlier this month, on top of an all-time record high this past summer.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2020JG005633

Compiled by Amy Imdieke.