The 10-year records of carbonate chemistry in Chuuk Lagoon, Western Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Coral reefs are a key marine ecosystem and contribute over a quarter of the CaCO3 production in the global ocean. However, they are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic acidification and ocean warming. Therefore, there is a growing need for longer-term studies of coral reef carbonate dynamics in order to more accurately predict the response of these systems to future ocean warming and acidification. Biweekly to monthly carbonate chemistry data from 2008 to 2017 collected from the Chuuk lagoon (7.3°N and 151.5°E) of the Federated States of Micronesia, found in the coral-rich Western Pacific Ocean, were analyzed. Total Alkalinity, Dissolved Inorganic Carbon, and pCO2 data collected over such a long period offers a rare insight into annual and seasonal trends in carbonate chemistry of a coral reef habitat. Available offshore carbonate data was also used in this study in order to better understand how the inorganic metabolism (calcification/dissolution) of the reef affects the carbonate system.