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Impact of high CO2 on the geochemistry of the coralline algae Lithothamnion glaciale

Coralline algae are a significant component of the benthic ecosystem. Their ability to withstand physical stresses in high energy environments relies on their skeletal structure which is composed of high Mg-calcite. High Mg-calcite is, however, the most soluble form of calcium carbonate and therefore potentially vulnerable to the change in carbonate chemistry resulting from the absorption of anthropogenic CO2 by the ocean. We examine the geochemistry of the cold water coralline alga Lithothamnion glaciale grown under predicted future (year 2050) high pCO2 (589 matm) using Electron microprobe and NanoSIMS analysis. In the natural and control material, higher Mg calcite forms clear concentric bands around the algal cells. As expected, summer growth has a higher Mg content compared to the winter growth. In contrast, under elevated CO2 no banding of Mg is recognisable and overall Mg concentrations are lower. This reduction in Mg in the carbonate undermines the accuracy of the Mg/Ca ratio as proxy for past temperatures in time intervals with significantly different carbonate chemistry. Fundamentally, the loss of Mg in the calcite may reduce elasticity thereby changing the structural properties, which may affect the ability of L. glaciale to efficiently function as a habitat former in the future ocean.

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Ragazzola, Federica, Foster, Laura C, Jones, C J, Scott, T B, Fietzke, Jan, Kilburn, M R, Schmidt, Daniela N (2016). Dataset: Impact of high CO2 on the geochemistry of the coralline algae Lithothamnion glaciale. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.867382

DOI retrieved: 2016

Additional Info

Field Value
Imported on November 30, 2024
Last update November 30, 2024
License CC-BY-3.0
Source https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.867382
Author Ragazzola, Federica
Given Name Federica
Family Name Ragazzola
More Authors
Foster, Laura C
Jones, C J
Scott, T B
Fietzke, Jan
Kilburn, M R
Schmidt, Daniela N
Source Creation 2016
Publication Year 2016
Resource Type text/tab-separated-values - filename: Ragazzola_2016
Subject Areas
Name: BiologicalClassification

Name: Chemistry

Related Identifiers
Title: Impact of high CO2 on the geochemistry of the coralline algae Lithothamnion glaciale
Identifier: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep20572
Type: DOI
Relation: IsSupplementTo
Year: 2016
Source: Scientific Reports
Authors: Ragazzola Federica , Foster Laura C , Jones C J , Scott T B , Fietzke Jan , Kilburn M R , Schmidt Daniela N .

Title: seacarb: seawater carbonate chemistry with R. R package version 3.0.8
Identifier: https://cran.r-project.org/package=seacarb
Type: DOI
Relation: References
Year: 2015
Authors: Gattuso Jean-Pierre , Epitalon Jean-Marie , Lavigne Héloïse .