Ocean Acidification: The Other Carbon Dioxide Problem (click here)
Economically, (click here) ocean acidification poses a threat to the health and prosperity of the
$100 million a year shellfish industry, with additional indirect losses to the finfish
industry because of declines in fish prey species.
NOAA OCEAN ACIDIFICATION PROGRAM (click here)
Ocean acidification is occurring because the world’s oceans are absorbing increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide, leading to lower pH and greater acidity. This is literally causing a sea change and threatening the fundamental chemical balance of ocean and coastal waters from pole to pole.
Ocean acidification refers to a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period, typically decades or longer, which is caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but can also be caused by other chemical additions or subtractions from the ocean. Anthropogenic ocean acidification refers to the component of pH reduction that is caused by human activity.(IPCC: Workshop on Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biology and Ecosystems). Over the last 250 years, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased from 280 parts per million to over 394 parts per million due to the burning of fossil fuels (e.g., coal, gas, oil) and land use change (for instance, conversion of natural forest into crop production). Ocean acidification has potentially devastating ramifications for all ocean life; from the smallest, single celled algae to the largest whales....
