Changes in pH of seawater in the neighborhood of a buoyant CO2 droplet in the ocean

Changes in pH around a buoyant CO₂ droplet in the ocean are studied. Based on a convection-diffusion model, mass transfer from the CO₂ droplet into seawater is analyzed. Chemical reactions that occur in the carbonate system are considered assuming local chemical equilibrium. A relationship between pH and the CO₂ concentration (in a total-carbonate sense) is obtained. Based on this relationship, changes in pH around the droplet can be predicted. It is found in this study that the pH distribution around a buoyant CO₂ droplet in the ocean is highly asymmetric: at the front of the droplet, changes in pH are restricted to a thin surface layer. However, a low-pH wake forms at the rear of the droplet and this wake can extend for a distance of several times the droplet radius