Free-ocean CO2 enrichment (FOCE) systems: present status and future developments

[摘要] Free-ocean CO₂ enrichment (FOCE) systems are designed to assess theimpact of ocean acidification on biological communities in situ for extendedperiods of time (weeks to months). They overcome some of the drawbacks oflaboratory experiments and field observations by enabling (1) precisecontrol of CO₂ enrichment by monitoring pH as an offset of ambientpH, (2) consideration of indirect effects such as those mediated throughinterspecific relationships and food webs, and (3) relatively longexperiments with intact communities. Bringing perturbation experiments fromthe laboratory to the field is, however, extremely challenging. The main goalof this paper is to provide guidelines on the general design, engineering,and sensor options required to conduct FOCE experiments. Another goal is tointroduce xFOCE, a community-led initiative to promote awareness, provideresources for in situ perturbation experiments, and build a usercommunity. Present and existing FOCE systems are briefly described andexamples of data collected presented. Future developments are also addressedas it is anticipated that the next generation of FOCE systems will include,in addition to pH, options for oxygen and/or temperature control. FOCEsystems should become an important experimental approach for projecting thefuture response of marine ecosystems to environmental change.

[学科分类] 地球化学与岩石