Ocean Acidification
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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For tens of millions of years earth maintained a stable acidity level, but research shows that stability is gone due to a rapid decrease in PH.
Photo by Edgar Barany
The drop in PH could have a major devastating global change. Here are some examples of how the PH is decreasing.
Photo by USFWS Headquarters
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the early 1800s, fossil fuel-powered machines have made a unprecedented amount of human industry and advancement. The negative consequence, has been the emission of billions of tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into Earth's atmosphere.
Photo by CeShine
Scientists now know that about half of this man-made CO2 has been absorbed over time by the oceans. This has benefited us by slowing the climate change these emissions would have instigated if they had stayed in the air. But relatively new research is finding that the introduction of massive amounts of CO2 into the seas is altering water chemistry and affecting the life cycles of many marine organisms, mainly those at the lower end of the food chain.
Photo by DonMiller_ToGo
The oceans currently absorb about a third of human-created CO2 emissions, that's about 22 million tons a day. Projections based on these numbers show that by the end of this century, continued emissions could reduce ocean pH by another 0.5 units. Shell-forming animals including corals, oysters, shrimp, lobster, many plank tonic organisms, and even some fish species could be gravely affected.
Photo by Ken Lund
Another bad thing is the fact that as the oceans continue to absorb more CO2, their capacity as a carbon storehouse could die out. That means more of the carbon dioxide we emit will remain in the atmosphere, causing more global climate change.
Photo by johnlemon
Awareness of ocean acidification is relatively recent, and researchers are just beginning to study its effects on ocean ecosystems, but all signs show that unless humans are able to control and eventually eliminate our fossil fuel emissions, ocean organisms will find themselves under increasing pressure to adapt to their changing habitats or they will perish.
Photo by lecates
