1 Citation
Globally, ocean acidification presents a threat to marine ecosystems. In the Baltic Sea, this process could so far not be quantified, partly due to a lack of appropriate pH observations. This study unravels a positive alkalinity trend in the Baltic Sea over the past two decades that counteracted acidification. Further, state-of-the-art spectrophotometric pH measurements in brackish waters are enabled by characterizing pH buffer solutions and the indicator dye m-Cresol purple at low salinities. Finally, pH fluctuations and their implications for benthic ecosystems are examined.