Uddin S, Gevao B, Al-Ghadban A N, Nithyanandan M, Al-Shamroukh D
Environmental Sciences Department, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait.
J Environ Monit. 2012 May;14(5):1479-82. doi: 10.1039/c2em10867d. Epub 2012 Apr 11.
The detrimental effects of increasing atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) and other greenhouse gases since the industrial revolution has led to a concerted international effort to control their release and abate the environmental and human health impacts. CO(2) is removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis of plants in the terrestrial environment and by aquatic sequestration. In the Middle East and other arid countries, terrestrial removal is minimal. The most likely removal pathway for CO(2) in arid regions around the world is by aquatic sequestration. In the Middle East the major sink is the Arabian Gulf which leads to acidification of the marine environment. Biweekly pH concentration measurements in surface waters of the northern Arabian Gulf over a four year period in this study suggest that the Arabian Gulf waters are becoming increasingly acidic with time. Supporting evidence for increased CO(2) sequestration comes from increased marine primary productivity over the past decade. Biological effects, such as coral bleaching, observed during this period suggest that urgent action is required to reverse the trend and protect marine life. The data highlight the fact that this semi-enclosed sea is undergoing a rapid degradation which may affect the oceanic chemistry and biogeochemical cycle much earlier than predicted for most oceanic waters.
自工业革命以来，大气中二氧化碳（CO₂）及其他温室气体含量增加所带来的有害影响，促使国际社会共同努力控制其排放，并减轻对环境和人类健康的影响。在陆地环境中，植物通过光合作用从大气中去除CO₂，同时也存在水体固存的方式。在中东及其他干旱国家，陆地去除作用微乎其微。全球干旱地区去除CO₂最可能的途径是水体固存。在中东地区，主要的碳汇是阿拉伯湾，这导致了海洋环境的酸化。本研究在四年时间里对阿拉伯湾北部表层水进行了每两周一次的pH值浓度测量，结果表明随着时间的推移，阿拉伯湾的海水酸性越来越强。过去十年海洋初级生产力增加为CO₂固存增加提供了佐证。在此期间观察到的诸如珊瑚白化等生物效应表明，需要采取紧急行动来扭转这一趋势并保护海洋生物。这些数据凸显了这样一个事实，即这片半封闭海域正在迅速退化，其对海洋化学和生物地球化学循环的影响可能比大多数海洋水域的预测要早得多。
