CLIMATE & OCEAN ACIDIFICATION
More acidic waters mean there are fewer carbonate molecules in the water available to the organisms that build their bodies out of calcium carbonate, such as coral, oysters and tiny plankton. All of these organisms are crucial for the health of ocean ecosystems that provide the fish that humans eat. Did you know…
— The oceans are currently absorbing about 22 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each day.
— The oceans have absorbed an estimated 525 billion tons of CO2 over the last 200 years.
— As oceans take CO2 out of the atmosphere, the waters become more acidic.
— On the pH acidity scale (which ranges from zero to 14, with zero being the most acidic and seven being neutral) the world’s oceans have fallen from a pH of 8.2 in the late 18th century to a pH of 8.1 today, a 30 percent increase in acidity.
— The tiny planktonic foraminifera that live in the Southern Ocean around Antarctic have shells that are now one-third thinner than they were in pre-industrial times.
