The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean Acidification

Authors

Nicole S. Lovenduski
Cheryl S. Harrison, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Holly Olivarez
Charles G. Bardeen
Owen B. Toon
Joshua Coupe
Alan Robock
Tyler Rohr
Samantha Stevenson

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2020

Abstract

We demonstrate that the global cooling resulting from a range of nuclear conflict scenarios would temporarily increase the pH in the surface ocean by up to 0.06 units over a 5-year period, briefly alleviating the decline in pH associated with ocean acidification. Conversely, the global cooling dissolves atmospheric carbon into the upper ocean, driving a 0.1 to 0.3 unit decrease in the aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) that persists for ∼10 years. The peak anomaly in pH occurs 2 years post conflict, while the Ωarag anomaly peaks 4- to 5-years post conflict. The decrease in Ωarag would exacerbate a primary threat of ocean acidification: the inability of marine calcifying organisms to maintain their shells/skeletons in a corrosive environment. Our results are based on sensitivity simulations conducted with a state-of-the-art Earth system model integrated under various black carbon (soot) external forcings. Our findings suggest that regional nuclear conflict may have ramifications for global ocean acidification.

Comments

©2020 American Geophysical Union. Original published version available at https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL086246

Recommended Citation

Lovenduski, Nicole S., Cheryl S. Harrison, Holly Olivarez, Charles G. Bardeen, Owen B. Toon, Joshua Coupe, Alan Robock, Tyler Rohr, and Samantha Stevenson. 2020. “The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean Acidification.” Geophysical Research Letters 47 (3): e2019GL086246. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL086246.

Publication Title

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

10.1029/2019GL086246