The Weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is far from freezing. This is Thanksgiving Week? Huh?

Of course everyone is aware the oceans have reached their limit in absorbing CO2. That means the oceans waters are becoming acidic because of the extra CO2 and the inability of the oceans to buffer it.

Folks like shellfish?

This is still another 'tipping point.'

If there isn't enough calcium carbonate for the shells, the larval stages won't develop. Many shellfish, such as the Blue Crab, or the Alaskan King Crab, rely on 'osmotic' regulation to sustain its 'hydration' balance. That 'osmotic' regulation cannot occur with a shell. The 'cells' of the larval stage will 'crenate' without proper mechanisms to regulate their water content.

NEWS: Climate Change November 20, 2009 - 10:47 am
Acid in Arctic waters eating away at shellfish (click title to entry - thank you)
Marine food chain could be threatened
NUNATSIAQ NEWS
...Ten years of study in the Beaufort Sea showed the seawater is becoming more acidic and fresher, which means there’s less of minerals and carbonate needed for shell formation.
The shellfish which may now be at risk include mussels and clams that need minerals in the water to form their shells and skeletons....

There is nothing magic here. Earth is a 'homeostatic' planet. When its balance is changed, ecosystems crash. Has anyone stopped to realize the amount of CO2 that exists in the oceans currently due to absorption of human excesses that is takes to cause this? No? Think about it everytime you 'start your engines.'

I suppose paying carbon credits on that aspect of life is going to change this reality too, right? Sure.


Ocean acidification is expected to increase as sea ice cover decreases due to global warming. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

Local Time: 1:08 PM AKST (GMT -09)

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Temperature :: 39 °F

Conditions :: Mostly Cloudy

Windchill :: 30 °F

Humidity :: 81%

Dew Point :: 34 °F

Wind :: 17 mph from the SE

Wind Gust :: 23 mph

Pressure :: 29.47 in (Falling)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds:
Few 1900 ft
Scattered Clouds 2400 ft
Mostly Cloudy 3500 ft
(Above Ground Level)

Elevation :: 33 ft


Royal Society Launches Ocean Acidification Study
LONDON—Call it the acid test. The U.K. Royal Society this week launched an investigation into how rising acidity may affect life in the world’s oceans.
Recent studies conclude that Earth’s oceans have absorbed almost half of the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by fossil fuel burning and cement production over the last 200 years (Science, 16 July, p. 367). The resulting chemical changes could produce a 0.4 drop in the pH of surface waters by the end of the century, scientists predict, possibly affecting corals and plankton that rely on calcium carbonate to form their skeletons.The increasing acidity could also reduce the ocean’s future ability to absorb more CO2.
Dundee University biologist John Raven, who will lead the study, says the oceans could be “doubly besieged” by rising temperatures and changing chemistry. The Royal Society is expected to publish its report early next year.
–FIONA PROFFITT

Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on November 23, 2009