Among the major players in Earth’s carbon cycle are its oceans. Acting as a natural carbon sink, our oceans absorb nearly one-third of atmospheric carbon dioxide, creating the chemical equilibrium that fosters marine life as we’ve known it.
What happens when atmospheric carbon increases? The oceans try to absorb it. upsetting the equilibrium and increasing ocean acidity.
Since the industrial revolution and the resulting increase in man-made, atmospheric carbon dioxide, the pH of the world’s oceans has increased by about 30 percent. Under some predictions, ocean acidity could increase 150 percent over the next century.
The effect of such dramatic increases on marine organisms is uncertain, but already scientists are beginning to get clues. Calcifying organisms such as corals, mussels, algae and plankton are now known to react adversely to increased acidity, while other organisms react favorably.
Bottom line? Although we don’t know precisely what acidification of our oceans will bring, we do know that ocean ecology — particularly the food chain — will be altered.
This week, we feature three short U.S. newscasts that have looked into the matter.
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