As scientists continue to show, the oceans absorb CO2 and keep it from going into the atmosphere. Thus, they help to protect against global climate change. However, this is looking to be perhaps an even bigger problem than climate change!
When oceans absorb this CO2, it makes them more and more acidic. “Since the industrial revolution, the ocean acidity has increased by 30%,” according to Lisa Suatoni, Ph.D. If we continue polluting CO2 as we are now, “ocean acidity will double by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial times. That is a big problem.”
A beautiful short video of the issues related to this, the oceans, and the challenge we are facing follows. It includes commentary from leading scientists and narration by Sigourney Weaver.
Marine biologists have discovered a dense population of mussels (the vent mussel Bathymodiolus brevior, a common, edible bi-valve “shellfish”), carpeting the sides of a submarine volcano, which has survived–despite the highly acidic environment–for the past 40 years. The results of this study were reported in a recent, on-line edition of the Journal Nature Geoscience.
The acidification of ocean habitats due to increased absorption of CO2 (which reacts with water to form carbonic acid) has become an issue of great concern over the past decade. Shellfish and other marine species (like corals and snails) that make their “homes” or shells from carbonates of calcium (CaCO3), are vulnerable to more acidic waters. A lower ph (generally below 8 on the ph scale) marine environment makes calcium ions less available to these creatures to fabricate their fortifications against nature’s predators and chemical forces. The result of this acidic exposure in shellfish is typically a much thinner shell, thus making the creature more susceptible to predation and even disease (as in the case of many corals; see: ).
