Scientists confirm ocean acidification from CO2 emissions
January 22nd, 2010 by Jim JustScientists have found evidence confirming predictions of climate models that higher atmospheric CO2 levels will lead to acidification of Earth’s oceans.
Scientists from the University of South Florida College of Marine Science measured CO2 levels in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. By comparing pH readings from 1991 and from 2006, they found the first direct evidence of acidification across an entire ocean basin, leaving no doubt that growing CO2 levels in the atmosphere are exerting major impacts on the world’s oceans.
If greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, by the end of the century surface water pH would drop approximately 0.4 pH units and the carbonate ion concentration would decrease almost 50%. This surface ocean pH would be lower than it has been for more than 20 million years. Even if substantial reductions in emissions are made, ocean acidification will continue for hundreds of years to come, which means we are already committed to many centuries of ugly consequences.
The study is published in the American Geophysical Union’s journal Geophysical Research Letters.