The paucity of pH records from the world’s oceans hinders our ability to comprehend the full scale of ocean acidification (OA) from CO2 emissions uptake. Project OASIS sets out to investigate the changes in global ocean pH using coral archives from the tropics.
Currently, δ11B ratios analysis in corals is the only method to extract in-situ changes of paleo-ocean pH at sub-seasonal to annual resolutions. The project will explore this emerging proxy’s spatio-temporal variability in different ocean basins to understand the current and past rates of ocean pH change. By producing multiple high-resolution pH time series together with classical isotopes and trace element records from corals, a clearer picture of the ongoing climate crisis can be recognized. This ongoing research project will include inter-coral species comparison from different oceans to focus on pH variability, characteristics, and OA impacts.
Corals and Coral Reefs
Corals and coral reefs are also known as the rainforest of the sea, because they provide habitats and support for about 25% of all marine life. They also act as a protective wall for land and people against large waves and erosion, and provide resources and ecological services worth billions of USD per year for fisheries, food and tourism.
Climate Change
Since the Industrial Revolution, CO2 emissions have soared and are influencing our climate, creating issues that affect the natural systems of the earth and all those who live on it.
Ocean Acidification
The ocean has absorbed 30% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions since the Industrial Revolution, increasing the ocean’s acidity by 26%. The effects of ocean acidification reach down to the ocean’s calcifying organisms and all the way up to human food security and more.
Make Our Planet Great Again - the research initiative
At the 2015 Paris COP21 climate conference, 195 countries committed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and make efforts to significantly limit man-made global warming to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. France and Germany joined forces in this fight against global warming by creating the “Make Our Planet Great Again” research initiative in 2018 covering research in Earth system science that aims to better understand climate change and its impacts on natural and socio-economic systems.