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Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences pp 1–2Cite as

Acidification

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Definition

Ocean acidification refers to the process of increasing seawater acidity by dissolving additional carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

As CO2 dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid (H2CO3), which readily dissociates into bicarbonate (HCO3 −) and a hydrogen ion (H+). The hydrogen ion concentration determines the acidity of seawater, expressed by the pH scale. Part of the hydrogen ions released in this process is buffered by the seawater carbonate system by consuming carbonate ions (CO3 2−) and forming additional bicarbonate. As pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration, pH decreases as the acidity increases (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1
figure 1

The process of ocean acidification: (1) Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolving in seawater; (2) dissolved CO2 reacting with water to form carbonic acid (H2CO3); (3) carbonic acid dissociating to bicarbonate (HCO3 −) and hydrogen ion (H+); (4) hydrogen ion reacting with carbonate (CO3 2−) to form...

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Bibliography

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Duesternbrooker Weg 20, Kiel, Germany

    Prof. Ulf Riebesell

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  1. Prof. Ulf Riebesell
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Correspondence to Ulf Riebesell .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

    Jan Harff

  2. Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Martin Meschede

  3. Leibiniz Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Sven Petersen

  4. Academy of Sciences, Humanities, and Lit c/o Helmholtz-Center for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany

    Jörn Thiede

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Riebesell, U. (2013). Acidification. In: Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_39-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_39-4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6644-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Acidification
    Published:
    21 March 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_39-6

  2. Acidification
    Published:
    24 February 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_39-5

  3. Original

    Acidification
    Published:
    10 February 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_39-4

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