Oceans and
carbon dioxide
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As CO2 builds up in
the oceans, the trend toward acidity lowers the concentration
of carbonate ion, a building block of corals and many other marine
organisms. |
Global climate change is making its mark below sea level as well as
above. Seawater is naturally basic, lying in the upper half of the
pH scale, but as oceans absorb more carbon dioxide, seawater pH is
decreasing. A 2006 report, Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral
Reefs and Other Marine Calcifiers, details the risks. NCAR’s
Joan Kleypas served as lead author for the report, compiled by scientists
at NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and several other labs and universities.
As carbon dioxide builds up in the oceans, the trend toward acidity
lowers the concentration of carbonate ion, a building block of corals
and coral reefs and the skeletons of many other marine organisms. It’s
the largest shift in marine chemistry in at least 650,000 years. “It
is clear that seawater chemistry will change in ways that will dramatically
alter marine life,” says Kleypas. “But we are only beginning
to understand the complex interactions between large-scale chemistry
changes and marine ecology.” The report calls for new research
strategies to better understand these complex threats to some of our
oceans’ most sensitive creatures.
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